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KR-102963658-B1 - LASER ANNEALING APPARATUS AND LASER ANNEALING METHOD USING THE SAME

KR102963658B1KR 102963658 B1KR102963658 B1KR 102963658B1KR-102963658-B1

Abstract

A laser annealing device may include a plurality of lasers, a laser controller that controls the lasers so that a plurality of laser beams generated from the lasers are emitted at different timings, a beam mixer optical system that mixes the laser beams with adjusted emission timings to output a processing beam, and a focus optical system that adjusts the focus of the processing beam to output it. The processing beam may include a first laser beam having a first pulse, a second laser beam having a second pulse delayed from the first pulse, and a third laser beam having a third pulse delayed from the second pulse, wherein the first peak of the first pulse is smaller than the second peak of the second pulse, and the third peak of the third pulse is smaller than the second peak.

Inventors

  • 전진홍
  • 산구, 아키후미
  • 류제길
  • 박철호
  • 우정훈
  • 이혜숙
  • 채영수

Assignees

  • 삼성디스플레이 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20211103

Claims (20)

  1. Multiple lasers; A laser controller that controls the lasers so that a plurality of laser beams generated from the lasers are emitted at different timings; A beam mixer optical system that mixes the above laser beams, whose emission timings are adjusted, to output a processing beam; and It includes a focus optical system that adjusts the focus of the processing beam and outputs it, and The above processing beam is, A first laser beam having a first pulse; A second laser beam having a second pulse delayed compared to the first pulse; and It includes a third laser beam having a third pulse delayed compared to the second pulse, and The first peak of the first pulse is smaller than the second peak of the second pulse, and the third peak of the third pulse is smaller than the second peak, and A laser annealing device in which each of the first, second, and third laser beams is formed by mixing at least two of the laser beams.
  2. In Article 1, A laser annealing device in which the first groove between the first pulse and the second pulse is set to 40% or less of the second peak.
  3. In Article 1, A laser annealing device in which the second groove between the second pulse and the third pulse is set to 60% or less of the second peak.
  4. In Article 1, A laser annealing device in which the time interval between the left point of the second pulse corresponding to 50% of the second peak and the right point of the third pulse corresponding to 50% of the third peak is set to 40 nanoseconds to 200 nanoseconds.
  5. delete
  6. In Article 1, A laser annealing device in which the number of laser beams forming the second laser beam is greater than the number of laser beams forming the third laser beam and the number of laser beams forming the first laser beam.
  7. In Article 1, A laser annealing device in which the first pulse and the second pulse partially overlap each other, and the second pulse and the third pulse partially overlap each other.
  8. In Article 1, A laser annealing device in which the third peak is larger than the first peak.
  9. In Article 1, The above third peak is a laser annealing device similar to the above first peak.
  10. In Article 1, The above third peak is a laser annealing device smaller than the above first peak.
  11. In Article 1, A laser annealing device in which the first pulse is spaced apart from the second pulse, and the second pulse and the third pulse partially overlap each other.
  12. In Article 11, The above first peak is a laser annealing device comprising a plurality of sub-peaks having different values.
  13. In Article 1, It further includes a plurality of attenuators that adjust the power of the laser beams received from the lasers and provide them to the beam mixer optical system. A laser annealing device in which the powers of at least two of the above laser beams are adjusted differently by the attenuators.
  14. In Article 1, The processing beam further includes a fourth laser beam having a fourth pulse delayed compared to the third pulse, and A laser annealing device in which the third pulse and the fourth pulse partially overlap each other, and the fourth peak of the fourth pulse is smaller than the third peak.
  15. In Article 14, The above fourth peak is a laser annealing device smaller than the above first peak.
  16. A step of generating multiple laser beams; A step of emitting the above laser beams at different timings; A step of mixing the laser beams with adjusted emission timings to output a processing beam; and The method includes the step of adjusting the focus of the processing beam to irradiate the workpiece, The above processing beam is, A first laser beam having a first pulse; A second laser beam having a second pulse delayed compared to the first pulse; and It includes a third laser beam having a third pulse delayed compared to the second pulse, and The first peak of the first pulse is smaller than the second peak of the second pulse, and the third peak of the third pulse is smaller than the second peak, and The step of mixing the above laser beams to output a processing beam is, A step of mixing at least two of the above laser beams to output a first laser beam; A step of mixing at least two different laser beams among the above laser beams to output a second laser beam; and A laser annealing method comprising the step of mixing at least two other laser beams among the above laser beams to output a third laser beam.
  17. In Article 16, A laser annealing method wherein a first groove between the first pulse and the second pulse is set to 40% or less of the second peak, a second groove between the second pulse and the third pulse is set to 60% or less of the second peak, and a time interval between a point to the left of the second pulse corresponding to 50% of the second peak and a point to the right of the third pulse corresponding to 50% of the third peak is set to 40 to 200 nanoseconds.
  18. delete
  19. In Article 16, A laser annealing method in which the first pulse and the second pulse partially overlap each other, and the second pulse and the third pulse partially overlap each other.
  20. In Article 16, The above third peak is a laser annealing method different from the above first peak.

Description

Laser Annealing Apparatus and Laser Annealing Method Using the Same The present invention relates to a laser annealing device and a laser annealing method using the same. Generally, electronic devices that provide video to users, such as smartphones, digital cameras, laptop computers, navigation systems, and smart televisions, include a display device for displaying the video. The display device generates video and provides the generated video to the user through a display screen. The display device includes a display panel comprising a plurality of pixels for generating an image and a driving unit for driving the display panel. Each pixel includes a transistor and a light-emitting element connected to the transistor. The transistor includes a source electrode, a drain electrode, a gate electrode, and a semiconductor layer. To improve the electrical characteristics of a transistor, a semiconductor layer is formed using polysilicon (crystalline silicon) obtained by crystallizing amorphous silicon. To form polysilicon, a crystallization process involving irradiating amorphous silicon with a laser beam is required. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a laser annealing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the state in which a processing beam output from the focusing optical system shown in Figure 1 is irradiated onto a workpiece. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a display panel that can be manufactured using the laser annealing device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a cross-section of a pixel shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating, exemplarily, the pulses of lasers emitted from the lasers shown in FIG. 1. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the pulse of a processing beam formed using lasers emitted from the lasers shown in Figure 1. Figure 7 is a diagram showing a semiconductor layer converted from amorphous silicon to polysilicon by the processing beam shown in Figure 6. FIGS. 8 to 11 are drawings illustrating various embodiments of a processing beam according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a laser annealing method using the laser annealing device illustrated in FIG. 1. In this specification, where a component (or region, layer, part, etc.) is described as being "on," "connected," or "combined" with another component, it means that it may be directly placed/connected/combined with the other component, or that a third component may be placed between them. Identical reference numerals denote identical components. Additionally, in the drawings, the thicknesses, proportions, and dimensions of the components are exaggerated for the effective illustration of the technical content. "And/or" includes all one or more combinations that the associated configurations can define. Terms such as "first," "second," etc., may be used to describe various components, but said components should not be limited by said terms. These terms are used solely for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be named the second component, and similarly, the second component may be named the first component. A singular expression includes a plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Additionally, terms such as "below," "lower side," "above," and "upper side" are used to describe the relationships between the components depicted in the drawings. These terms are relative concepts and are described based on the directions indicated in the drawings. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Furthermore, terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined herein. Terms such as "include" or "have" are intended to specify the existence of the features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and should be understood as not precluding the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a laser annealing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a laser annealing device (LAA) according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a laser control unit (LAC), a plurality of lasers (LAR), a plurality of attenuators (ATA), a beam mixer optical system (BM