AVS 49th International Symposium
    Thin Films Tuesday Sessions
       Session TF-TuP

Paper TF-TuP21
Infrared Emission from Electroluminescent Thin Film ZnS Doped with Rare Earth Fluorides

Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall B2

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: W. Glass, University of Florida
Authors: W. Glass, University of Florida
A.S. Kale, University of Florida
M. Davidson, University of Florida
P.H. Holloway, University of Florida
Correspondent: Click to Email
Alternating current thin film electroluminescent devices (ACTFELDs) are well-known thin film structures used for flat panel displays. A well-known phosphor for such displays is ZnS doped with either transition or rare earth elements. The infrared emission from these types of materials is often overlooked except in the case of ZnS:ErF@sub 3@, which has been of interest for fiber optic communications. The infrared intensity of these phosphors is dependent on the environment of the luminescent centers and can be improved by modification of deposition and processing. In this study, rare earth fluoride doped ZnS films were deposited by RF planar magnetron sputter deposition. Deposition temperature was varied to determine temperature effects on brightness and crystallinity. In addition, the rare earth concentration was changed from a maximum of 1.6 mol% to zero by simultaneously sputtering an undoped ZnS target. Similarly, films containing two rare earths have been produced by simultaneously sputtering two rare earth containing targets. These films were used to determine the effects of concentration and energy transfer between rare earth dopants. The devices were then excited by electroluminescence to determine the optimal conditions for infrared emission. Finally, emission from materials with similar and dissimilar luminescent decay paths will be discussed.