Method for annealing a semiconductor

(21) Appl. No.: 08/721,540

(22) Filed: Sep. 26, 1996

Related U.S. Application Data

(60) Division of application No. 08/275,909, filed on Jul. 15, 1994, now Pat. No. 5,578,520, which is a continuation-inpart of application No. 08/104,614, filed on Aug. 11, 1993, now Pat. No. 5,352,291, which is a continuation of application No. 07/886,817, filed on May 22, 1992, now abandoned.

(30) Foreign Application Priority Data

May 28, 1991 (JP) 3-152477

(51) Int. CI.7 C23C 16/00; H01L 21/00

(52) U.S. CI 118/715; 118/719

(58) Field of Search 118/719, 715;

156/345; 117/58, 904, 900; 438/795, 758

(56) References Cited

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

4,151,058 4/1979 Kaplan et al 427/39

4,226,898 10/1980 Ovshinsky et al 148/DIG. 61

(List continued on next page.)

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Kuwano, Photovoltaic Behavior of Amorphous Si:H and Si:F:H Solar Cells, Conference Record, 15th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conf., Kissimmee, Fla., May 12-15, 1981, published Aug. 1981, pp. 698-703.

(List continued on next page.)

* cited by examiner

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

4.309,225 1/1982 Fan et al. .

4,313,783 2/1982 Davies et al 156/345

4,322,253 1/1982 Pankove et al 437/24

4,370,175 1/1983 Levatter 148/1.5

4,388,145 * 6/1983 Hawkins et al 117/58

4^402,762 9/1983 John et al 437/46

4,405,435 9/1983 Tateishi et al 204/298

4,482,395 * 11/1984 Hiramoto 438/799

4,498,416 2/1985 Bouchaib 118/719

4,503,807 3/1985 Nakayama et al 118/733

4,523,370 6/1985 Sullivan et al 437/46

4,552,595 11/1985 Hoga 437/21

4,557,036 12/1985 Kyuragi et al 437/239

4,567,061 1/1986 Hayashi et al 437/239

4,576,851 3/1996 Iwamatsu 156/603

4,582,720 4/1986 Yamazaki 118/723

4,589,951 5/1986 Kawamura 156/620.71

4,590,091 5/1986 Rogers, Jr. et al 427/54.1

4,592,306 6/1986 Gallego 118/729

4.592,799 6/1986 Hayafuji 437/173

4,595,601 6/1986 Horioka et al 427/53.1

4,609,407 9/1986 Masao et al 437/48

4,640,223 2/1987 Dozier 118/719

4.663,829 5/1987 Hartman et al. .

4,694,143 9/1987 Nishimura et al 118/725

4,698,486 10/1987 Sheets 118/725

4,699,863 10/1987 Sawatari et al 430/97

4,719,123 1/1988 Haku et al 437/173

4,800,174 1/1989 Ishihara et al. .

4,808,554 2/1989 Yamazaki .

4,843,022 6/1989 Yamazaki 437/4

4,888,305 12/1989 Yamazaki et al 437/82

4,937,205 6/1990 Nakayama et al. .

4,951,601 * 8/1990 Maydan et al 118/719

4,988,642 1/1991 Yamazaki .

5,091,334 2/1992 Yamazaki et al 437/82

5,141,058 8/1992 Heppner 171/63

5,171,710 12/1992 Yamazaki et al 437/174

5,174,881 12/1992 Iwasaki et al. .

5,186,718 2/1993 Tepman et al. .

5,194,398 3/1993 Miyachi et al. .

5,200,017 4/1993 Kawasaki et al. .

5.234,528 8/1993 Nishi .

5,266,116 11/1993 Fujioka et al. .

5,288,658 2/1994 Ishihara .

Wagner et al., Formation of p-n Junctions and Silicides in Silicon Using a High Performance Laser Beam Homogenization System, Applied Surface Science, vol. 43, 1989, pp. 260-263.

Jhon et al., Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon by Excimer Laser Annealing with a Line Shape Beam Having a Gaussian Profile, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., vol. 33, pp. L1438-L1441, Part 2, No. 10B, Oct. 15, 1994. "High Mobility Poly-Si Thin Film Transistors Using Solid Phase Crystallized a-Si Films Deposited by Plasma-Enhance Chemical Vapor Deposition", Satoshi Takenaka, et al. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 29, No. 12, Dec. 1990, pp. 2380-2383.

Sera et al., "High-Performance TFT's Fabricated by XeCL Excimer Laser Annealing of Hydrogenated Amorphous-Silicon Film", IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 36, No. 12, Dec. 1989, pp. 2868-2872. Sameshima et al., "XeCL Excimer Laser Annealing Used to Fabricate Poly-Si TFT's ", Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 28, No. 10, Oct. 1989, pp. 1789-1793.