Silicon Flat Panel Displays

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Spire recently demonstrated bright visible light emission from Silicon quantum wires. Silicon substrates were electrochemically etched to produce a porous surface with nanometer size Si columns (quantum wires). When excited with a blue laser beam, or UV light (photoluminescence), or when immersed in an H2O:NaC1 electrolyte under an electric field, the treated samples emitted very bright red light. Moreover, we demonstrated that it is possible to tailor the emission spectrum by anodizing Si-based alloys such as Si1-xGex or ion implanted Si (e.g., Er+-implanted Si). If strong electroluminescence (EL) can be demonstrated in this material then the driver electronics and light- emitting elements of a flat panel display can be integrated into the same Si substrate. This development would result in significant reduction of display panel fabrication steps and cost. We believe that these recent findings, combined with mature Si electronics technology, offer a rare opportunity for a major advance in commercial flat-panel display technology. We propose a program to investigate fabrication of monochrome or multi- color Si flat-panel displays. In Phase I, we will optimize processing of Si quantum wires and study electroluminescent behavior. Individual test structures will be fabricated and EL performance demonstrated. In Phase II, we will fabricate multi-pixel monochrome Si EL displays and explore fabrication of multi-color Si EL displays.