Semiconductor device including a TFT having large-grain polycrystalline active layer, LCD employing the same and method of fabricating them

A liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal panel comprising a pair of insulating substrates, a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between said pair of insulating substrates, a plurality of pixels formed between said pair of insulating substrates and a peripheral circuit for driving said plurality of pixels and disposed at a periphery of at least one of said pair of insulating substrates, said peripheral circuit including a thin film transistor comprising:

• an insulating substrate,
• an island made of a polycrystalline semiconductor material and disposed on said insulating substrate,
• a conductive layer made of said polycrystalline semiconductor material and at least one of metals and metallic silicides and surrounding said island,
• a source region and a drain region spaced from said source region,
• said source region and said drain region being formed in said island,
• a gate electrode disposed on said island with an insulating film interposed between said island and said gate electrode, said gate facing a spacing between said source region and said drain region,
• wherein said polycrystalline semiconductor material forming said island and said conductive layer are fabricated by initially annealing a first amorphous semiconductor material deposited on said insulating substrate with a crystallization-inducing layer made of said at least one of metals and metallic silicides and having a hole corresponding to said island, said crystallization-inducing layer being disposed on a surface of said amorphous semiconductor material on at least one of a substrate side thereof and a side thereof opposite from said substrate side, and then by depositing a second amorphous semiconductor material on said first amorphous semiconductor and annealing said second amorphous semiconductor material.