NSF Award
9712262
*** 9712262 Kalkhoran This Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer project will investigate the feasibility of a novel, low-cost, full-color, flat panel display based on silicon. In this panel, both the light-emitting elements and driver circuits are fabricated on a single polysilicon thin film deposited on a glass substrate. Emission is provided by electroluminescent (EL) devices based on nanocrystalline Si formed by anodization within the film, followed by a stabilizing oxidation procedure. Due to their quantum confinement properties, these Si nanocrystallites are efficient emitters of visible light. Si-based EL devices can be integrated monolithically with thin-film-transistor (TFT) chip-on-glass drive circuits, resulting in a compact, self-driven display panel. Because the display panel proposed is compatible with advanced silicon processing technology, it can be built with minimum complexity and cost, and offer very high resolution. In Phase 1, the proposers will investigate fabrication of visible EL devices based on oxidized porous polysilicon (OPPS) thin film phosphors on glass. Attempts will also be made to demonstrate a seven-segment numeric display based on these emitters and investigate multicolor EL devices. Phase II will optimize process parameters for fabrication of Si-based EL devices capable of emitting the three primary colors (red, green and blue), and a prototype full-color active matrix display monolithically integrated with its driver TFTs will be developed and tested. All-Silicon displays may be used in applications such as instrument displays, head mounted displays, computer screens, portable televisions, and electronic games. ***
