SrS:Ce is an important material for full color electroluminescent (EL) flat panel displays. Using a combination of SrS:Ce/ZnS:Mn and appropriate color filters high quality full color displays have been demonstrated [1]. Major issues for commercially viable process integration of SrS:Ce are the combination of high luminance, high growth rate, and process temperatures below 600°C for compatibility with low cost glass substrates. This work describes the process development and optimization of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) of SrS:Ce. MOCVD is a promising candidate for deposition of SrS:Ce because it can provide the required growth rates and allows control of crystal structure and stoichiometry. Growth of SrS:Ce was performed in the temperature range from 400°C to 530°C using Sr(tmhd)2, Ce(tmhd)4, and H2S as precursors. The structure of the SrS:Ce was found to be strongly dependent on the H2S flow. A brightness of 15 fL and an efficiency of 0.22 lm/W has been achieved (40 V above threshold voltage, 60 Hz AC). Film analysis included Rutherford backscattering (RBS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and EL measurements. Results on the correlation between process parameters, film structure, grain size and EL performance will be presented.

Measurements of the threshold for secondary electron emission and shifts of the carbon Auger line position have been used to deduce the surface potential of several common phosphors during irradiation by electrons in the 0.5 – 5.0 keV range. All of the insulating phosphors display similar behavior: the surface potential is within ±1 V of zero at low electron energies. However, above 2–3 kV it becomes increasingly negative, reaching hundreds of volts within 1 keV of the turn-on energy. The electron energy at which this charging begins decreases dramatically after Coulomb aging at 17 μA/cm2 for 30–60 min‥ Measurements using coincident electron beams at low and high electron energies to control the surface potential were made to investigate the dependence of the cathodoluminescence (CL) process on charging. Initially, the CL from the two beams is identical to the sum of the separate beam responses, but after Coulomb aging large deviations from this additivity are observed. These results indicate that charging has important, detrimental effects on CL efficiency after prolonged e-beam irradiation. Measurements of the electron energy dependence of the CL efficiency before and after Coulomb aging will also be presented, and the implications of these data on the physics of the low-voltage CL process will be discussed.

Full-color cathodoluminescence (CL) characteristics of ion implanted ZnGa2O4 thin film phosphors deposited by rf sputtering have been investigated. High brightness red (R) and green (G) CL was obtained from Eu and Mn-implanted ions, respectively. Blue (B) emission has been achieved by Ce ion implantation or from high temperature annealed, self-activated films. RGB emissions of ion implanted ZnGa2O4 thin film phosphors are well saturated and enclose a larger area surrounding the central “white” zone of CIE chromaticity chart than standard CRT phosphors. Luminescence efficiency enhancements of up to 40% have been achieved through surface texturing of the substrate prior to phosphor deposition. First demonstration of bright luminescence in ion implanted ZnGa2O4 films on flexible polyimide substrates is reported.

Thin film phosphors are very promising for the fabrication of flat panel field emission displays (FEDs). In the present paper we have reported the growth and characterization of Eu:Y2O3 phosphor thin films. The effect of surface roughness and crystallinity on the brightness of phosphor films have been studied. A post annealing treatment of the films have been found to result in the realization of Eu:Y2O3 films with 70% brightness compared to powder materials.

Zn2SiO4:Mn thin films were deposited and studied as thin film phosphors for flat panel cathodoluminescent displays. Crystallized films with improved electrical conductivity were obtained after conventional and rapid thermal annealings in a N2 environment at 850Xy11100 °C for 0.25 to 60 minutes. A maximum cathodoluminescent efficiency of 1.3 Lm/W was achieved under dc excitation at 1500 volts. The luminescent emission from these thin films was peaked around 525 nm. The decay time of these films was controlled in the range of 2 to 10 ms by varying the deposition and annealing parameters. The fast response time of these thin films overcomes the long decay limitation of the Zn2SiO4:Mn powder phosphor in practical display applications.

Mn-doped ZnS nanoclusters were synthesized within microphase-separated films of diblock copolymers containing carboxylic acid units on one of the blocks. Zinc was selectively sequestered into the acid-containing domains by treating the films with diethylzinc or an aqueous zinc acetate solution. Manganese was loaded by subsequent treatment of the films with aqueous manganese acetate solutions. The manganese ions displaced a fraction of the zinc ions, and the extent of loading was controlled by varying the loading time, and the concentration of the manganese acetate solution. The extent of loading was tracked using ICP discharge emission spectroscopy. The doped nanoclusters were formed by subsequent treatment with H2S. The size of the doped ZnS nanoclusters could be varied by carrying out the H2S exposure in the presence of a coordinating base. Photoluminescence measurements revealed that the doped nanoclusters were photoluminescent, and showed the characteristic manganese emission. The universal doped cluster synthesis scheme used is quite general and can be easily modified to produce other doped nanocluster clusters, such as Tb-doped ZnS, or Mn-doped CdS.

Color phosphors have been deposited on indium-tin glasses by utilizing an electrophoretic process for the application to prototype 4-inch full color FED devices. The deposition suspension is prepared with color phosphors of l-3um size, isopropanol, charger and binder. Various parameters, such as deposition time and applied voltages, are systematically performed to this end. As a result, each phosphor exhibited uniform thickness of about 6–10um over the whole plate. Electrical properties of the deposited phosphors are investigated and compared both in the vacuum chamber and in fully-sealed 4” FED conditions. In addition, they are extensively characterized by the SEM and 3-dimentional analysis. Experimental results confirm that the phosphor quality in real FED devices is significantly affected by deposition conditions.

Due to their high photoluminescence efficiency (>30%), high environmental stability and the good charge transport properties the derivatives of poly(paraphenylene) (PPP), as the laddertype PPP (LPPP) and the oligomer hexaphenyl, are very suitable materials to realise efficient, stable, large area blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The emission of blue OLEDs can be efficiently converted into all other emission colors either by an external color conversion technique (ECCT) or an internal color conversion technique (ICCT) and hence are very interesting for a number of display applications:

Firstly, we demonstrate the realisation of efficient red-green-blue (RGB) emission colors (representing the RGB-pixels in a multicolor display) by an external CCT. In this case the blue EL device is covered with highly fluorescenct dye/matrix layers, which are excited by the blue emission and emit photoluminescence light in a lower energetic range.

Secondly, a new method for producing efficient white light-emitting polymer diodes (which are interesting for e.g. backlight sources in liquid crystal displays) based on a blend of two polymers is presented: a blue light-emitting m-LPPP and a red-orange emitter poly(perylene-co-diethynylbenzene) (PPDB). The red-orange emission is created within the EL device (ICCT) by an excitation energy transfer from m-LPPP into the energetically lower lying states of PPDB. This internal excitation energy transfer is very efficient, so that only a concentration of 0.05 weight % PPDB in the polymer blend is required in order to obtain white light emission.

The remarkable optical and electronic properties of doped and undoped silica aerogels establish their utility as unique, multifunctional host materials for fluorescent dyes and other luminescent materials for display and imaging applications. We present results on the photoluminescence, absorption, and photoluminescence excitation spectra of undoped silica aerogels and aerogels doped with Er3+, rhodamine 6G (R6G), and fluorescein.