A CMOS microdisplay with integrated controller utilizing improved silicon hot carrier luminescent light sources

Petrus J. Venter; Antonie C. Alberts; Monuko du Plessis; Trudi-Heleen Joubert; Marius E. Goosen; Christo Janse van Rensburg; Pieter Rademeyer; Nicolaas M. Fauré

doi:10.1117/12.2004277

1 March 2013 A CMOS microdisplay with integrated controller utilizing improved silicon hot carrier luminescent light sources

Petrus J. Venter, Antonie C. Alberts, Monuko du Plessis, Trudi-Heleen Joubert, Marius E. Goosen, Christo Janse van Rensburg, Pieter Rademeyer, Nicolaas M. Fauré

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8643, Advances in Display Technologies III; 864309 (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2004277
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2013, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Microdisplay technology, the miniaturization and integration of small displays for various applications, is predominantly based on OLED and LCoS technologies. Silicon light emission from hot carrier electroluminescence has been shown to emit light visibly perceptible without the aid of any additional intensification, although the electrical to optical conversion efficiency is not as high as the technologies mentioned above. For some applications, this drawback may be traded off against the major cost advantage and superior integration opportunities offered by CMOS microdisplays using integrated silicon light sources. This work introduces an improved version of our previously published microdisplay by making use of new efficiency enhanced CMOS light emitting structures and an increased display resolution. Silicon hot carrier luminescence is often created when reverse biased pn-junctions enter the breakdown regime where impact ionization results in carrier transport across the junction. Avalanche breakdown is typically unwanted in modern CMOS processes. Design rules and process design are generally tailored to prevent breakdown, while the voltages associated with breakdown are too high to directly interact with the rest of the CMOS standard library. This work shows that it is possible to lower the operating voltage of CMOS light sources without compromising the optical output power. This results in more efficient light sources with improved interaction with other standard library components. This work proves that it is possible to create a reasonably high resolution microdisplay while integrating the active matrix controller and drivers on the same integrated circuit die without additional modifications, in a standard CMOS process.

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Petrus J. Venter, Antonie C. Alberts, Monuko du Plessis, Trudi-Heleen Joubert, Marius E. Goosen, Christo Janse van Rensburg, Pieter Rademeyer, and Nicolaas M. Fauré "A CMOS microdisplay with integrated controller utilizing improved silicon hot carrier luminescent light sources", Proc. SPIE 8643, Advances in Display Technologies III, 864309 (1 March 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2004277

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