Light valve device using semiconductive composite substrate

• US 5,486,708 A
• Filed: 06/23/1994
• Issued: 01/23/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Seiko Instruments Incorporated (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Instruments Incorporated (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Takasu, Hiroaki, Takahashi, Kunihiro, Yoshino, Tomoyuki, Niwa, Hitoshi, Kojima, Yoshikazu, Yamazaki, Tsuneo, Matsuyama, Nobuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): MINTEL, WILLIAM A
• Application Number:
  US08/264,635
• Time in Patent Office: 579 Days
• Field of Search: 257/59, 257/98, 257/88, 257/72, 359/59, 359/79, 359/58, 359/68
• US Class Current: 257/59
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/133512 Light shielding layers, e.g. black matrix G02F1/136209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13454 Drivers integrated on the active matrix substrate G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13613 the semiconductor element being formed on a first substrate and thereafter transferred to the final cell substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2202/105 single crystal Si
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76264 SOI together with lateral isolation, e.g. using local oxidation of silicon, or dielectric or polycristalline material refilled trench or air gap isolation regions, e.g. completely isolated semiconductor islands
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76289 Lateral isolation by air gap
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2221/68363 used in a transfer process involving transfer directly from an origin substrate to a target substrate without use of an intermediate handle substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1214 comprising a plurality of TFTs formed on a non-semiconducting substrate, e.g. driving circuits for AMLCDs
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1266 the substrate on which the devices are formed not being the final device substrate, e.g. using a temporary substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66772 Monocristalline silicon transistors on insulating substrates, e.g. quartz substrates H01L29/66666 takes precedence; thin film FinFETs H01L29/66795
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/78648 arranged on opposing sides of the channel
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 148/012 Bonding, e.g. electrostatic for strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 148/135 Removal of substrate

Abstract

A semiconductor device having a double-side wiring structure, in which a single crystal semiconductor thin film is formed integrally with transistor elements and is laminated on an insulating thin film. The single crystal semiconductor thin film is formed with through-holes and the insulating thin film is formed on its back side with electrodes and a shielding film. A light valve device using the semiconductor device is also disclosed. Over the single crystal semiconductor thin film, there are formed switching elements of transistors, pixel electrodes connected electrically with the switching elements, and drive circuits for scanning and driving the switching elements. Also disclosed is a miniature highly dense light valve device. In this light valve device, an electrooptical substance is arranged between a multi-layer substrate. The multi-layer substrate is formed with electrodes and a shielding film at the opposed side of the insulating film to the side formed with the grouped elements through the insulating film. A transparent opposite substrate is also formed so that the optical transparency of the electrooptical substance is controlled by the switching elements.

Claims

1. A light valve device comprising:

a drive substrate having a drive electrode and an electrically connected drive circuit for exciting the drive electrode in response to a predetermined signal;

an opposed substrate arranged opposite to the drive substrate; and

an electrooptical material layer arranged between the drive substrate and the opposed substrate, wherein the drive substrate includes a transparent insulating thin film layer and a single crystal semiconductor thin film layer formed over the transparent insulating thin film layer, wherein the drive circuit includes a transistor element formed in the single crystal semiconductor thin film layer, and wherein the drive electrode is integrally arranged on one of the single crystal thin film layer and the transparent insulating thin film layer so that the drive electrode is excited by the drive circuit to control the optical transparency of the electrooptical material layer.

2. A light valve device according to claim 1;

further comprising a light shielding layer formed on a surface of the transparent insulating thin film layer which is opposed to the surface on which the single crystal semiconductor thin film layer is formed, so as to cover at least the active region of the transistor element.

3. A light valve according to claim 1;

wherein the drive electrode is formed over the transparent insulating thin film layer in a region from which the single crystal semiconductor thin film layer is removed.

4. A light valve device according to claim 1;

wherein the drive substrate has a laminated structure comprising the transparent insulating thin film layer, the single crystal semiconductor thin film layer formed over the transparent insulating thin film layer, and a support substrate in a face-to-face relation with the single crystal semiconductor thin film layer, and wherein the opposed substrate and the electro-optical material layer are arranged at the side of the transparent insulating thin film layer.

5. A light valve device according to claim 1;

wherein the drive substrate has a laminated structure comprising the transparent insulating thin film layer, and a support substrate fixed to a surface of the transparent insulating thin film layer which is opposed to the side formed with the single crystal semiconductor thin film layer, and wherein the opposed substrate and the electrooptical material layer are arranged in layers at a surface of the single crystal semiconductor thin film layer.

6. A light valve device according to claim 2;

wherein the light shielding layer comprises an opaque conductor and has a portion overlapped with the drive electrode through the transparent insulating thin film layer to form capacitance elements between the light shielding layer and the drive electrode.

7. A light valve device according to claim 1;

wherein the electrooptical material layer is a liquid crystal layer.

8. A light valve device according to claim 1;

wherein the electrooptical material layer is a polymer dispersion liquid crystal layer in which a liquid crystal material is dispersed in a polymer material.

9. A light valve device according to claim 1;

including a plurality of drive electrodes which include a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix shape, wherein the drive circuit includes switching elements arranged in a matrix shape, and wherein each of the pixel electrodes is electrically connected with respective switching element so that the pixel electrodes are selectively excited by corresponding switching elements.

10. A light valve device according to claim 9;

wherein the drive circuit includes a scanning circuit for scanning the matrix-arranged switching elements.

11. A light valve device according to claim 10;

wherein the drive circuit includes an image signal processor circuit for processing an input image signal to output a processed signal to the scanning circuit.

12. A light valve device according to claim 1;

wherein an electrode pad is formed at surface of the transparent insulating thin film layer which is opposed to the surface arranged with the single crystal semiconductor thin film, and wherein the transparent insulating thin film layer is formed with contact holes through which the drive circuit formed in the single crystal semiconductor thin film and the electrode pad are electrically connected.

13. A light valve device according to claim 1;

wherein the transistor element is an insulated gate transistor element, and wherein the single crystal semiconductor thin film is electrically grounded between a channel region of the insulated gate transistor element and the transparent insulating thin film layer.

14. A light valve device according to claim 1;

wherein one of the drive substrate and the opposed substrate has a color filter thereover for a color display so as to correspond to the drive electrode over the drive substrate.