By
B. Equer
B. Drevillon, Ecole Polytechnique, Laboratoire PICM, Palaiseau, France
I. French, Philips Research Laboratory, Redhill, UK
T. Kallfass, Institut für Netzwerk und Systemtheorie, University of Stuttgart, Germany
Description
The symposium brought together more than a hundred attendees from many countries including a significant participation from Japan and
other East-Asia countries. Many of the trends observed in the 1st Symposium held in 1996 were confirmed: displays are indeed the main
application in LAE (photovoltaics were not included in the topics of this symposium) and active matrix display (AMLCD) is still the leading
technology. Future AMLCDs integrating the display drivers onto the same substrate require much faster thin-film transistors (TFTs) than
those used for LCD addressing, therefore putting a strong demand on polysilicon performances. As a consequence the quest for an improved
low temperature, large area (and low cost) polysilicon process is intensive and the competitors, including direct plasma deposition and
excimer laser crystallization of amorphous layers, are reporting significant steps forward. With the tremendous demand for efficient
colour flat panel displays, other display technologies are gaining interest. Field emission display (FED) is one of them. FEDs based
on amorphous tetrahedral carbon thin-films are stimulating intensive studies on the optoelectronic properties of this complex material.
Large area pixellized sensors for x-ray radiography and document scanning is another field of application in LAE which has recently
reached initial production. Using a TFT or diode pixel addressing similar to AMLCD, this kind of device benefits from most of the AMLCD
technology. However these devices present an increased complexity and stringent specifications on noise which in turn means materials
with improved electronic transport properties. Finally, LAE is a fast developing area in thin-film research and technology. Initially
an all-silicon domain, it now involves a large range of thin-film semiconductors and dielectrics, whose properties need to be fully understood
and for which flexible and efficient processes have still to be developed.
Included in series
European Materials Research Society Symposia Proceedings
Audience:
For physicists, materials scientists and electronic engineers working on the science, technology and application of thin films for large area electronics.
