Ion-Implanted Thin Film Phosphors for Full-Color Field Emission Displays

ABSTRACTWe have investigated the application of ion implantation technique for introducing activator and co-activator ions into host materials such as ZnS and Zn2SiO4, and have produced phosphors with differing emission peaks throughout the visible range. A number of different ions including, Mn+, Al+ and rare-earth metals have been implanted. Zn2SiO4:Mn showed bright yellow cathodoluminescence. We have demonstrated that by varying the parameters for ion implantation and annealing, a single ZnS sample with emission peaks ranging from violet to yellow can be produced; i.e, chromaticity engineering. In one case, our results indicated that photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of ZnS phosphors shifts from blue to green by increasing the dose of implanted A+ ions. The Al+-implanted ZnS samples showed emission peaks shifting from 440 to 510 nm when the aluminum dose was raised from 1 × 1015 to 1 × 1017 A1+/cm2. Therefore, by activating color centers in thin film phosphors using ion implantation, efficient and low-cost full-color field emission displays can be fabricated on a single layer of host material.