Materials for Flat-Panel Displays
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electronic products has arisen during the past several years. For those of us who may be skeptical as to the survivability of more than one approach, there are reasons to anticipate that this will be a true multitechnological field. Simply put, the demands for and anticipated applications of FPD products are very strong and quite varied—so much so that no single approach can possibly fulfill all of the needs. Many applications can be identified that require and tolerate different combinations of display size, pixel resolution, brightness, power consumption, color saturation, viewing angle, weight, and cost. Head-mounted displays, for example, require low-power-consumption and high-resolution capabilities while hang-on-the-wall large-screen TVs require a large-screen area and full-color capability. In this MRS Bulletin issue we have brought together a handful of major approaches that are currently being pursued in order to produce marketable FPD products, with a slant toward materialsrelated issues. The first article by Moffatt covers the issue relevant to manufacturing large-area and very flat glass substrates—the materials being employed in nearly all current FPD products. The next article on AMLCD materials by Hanna and Shimizu reviews this important display technology, which currently occupies the central position within the field. Much credit must be given to those who have made advances in this area because AMLCD development is one major reason why the FPD field has gained momentum. The following article by Im and Sposili focuses on challenging materials processes—solidphase crystallization and excimer-laser crystallization of amorphous-Si films on glass substrates—that are being investigated to produce crystalline Si films that
would enable AMLCDs to evolve into a highly value-added product through incorporation of various electronic circuits directly onto the glass substrate. Electroluminescence (EL)-based displays, a novel and potentially manufacturing-friendly approach to FPDs, are covered in the next article by Rack, Naman, Holloway, Sun, and Tuenge. This article reviews the basic principles involved in operation of EL displays and light sources. It further reports on progress being made with respect to the development of thin- and thick-film EL materials. In particular, the article includes advances being made with respect to new thin-film electroluminescent phosphors that are now permitting EL displays to overcome previously associated color limitations while improving the brightness of the displays. The field-emission-based display, which represents another rapidly improving technology, is covered in the article by Jaskie. In the article, Jaskie reviews not only the general principles and approaches associated with this "CRT-for-each-pixel" method, but also introduces exciting developments that may permit the application of diamond to further improve the technology. In the final article, which deals with materials and manufacturing issues relevant to plasma displays, Weber and Birk discuss how plasma
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