This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will involve development of a new fabrication method of fully inorganic thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) displays with a light emitting nanoparticles (NP) layer. The device emits light in the color range from blue to infrared. TFEL displays are thin, bright, flexible and flat. Devices would have 179 degree viewing angle and because they do not contain filaments or mechanical parts, they are not susceptible to shock and vibration. These devices are powered by a DC battery or an AC unit. The TFEL displays could be easily mounted on conformal surfaces. The combination of direct write and layer by layer technologies provides an elegant alternative to traditional fabrication methods of semiconductor electronics such as photolithography, vacuum deposition techniques, masking, high processing temperatures, etc. The TFEL display structures with NPs will be very simple, extremely lightweight, compact, flexible, versatile, and relatively inexpensive to produce in large quantities. This project will develop an efficient, cheap, reliable method of manufacturing these novel electroluminescent displays capable of stable, extended service, low power consumption under a wide range of environmental conditions.
Commercially, TFEL displays with NPs are flexible, bright, large, easy and inexpensive to fabricate, provide wide view angle, and can be mounted on conformal surfaces. Devices will be pure inorganic and demonstrate very desirable characteristics such as a long lifetime, high brightness, efficiency, spectral purity, and the ability to emit in a wide spectral range from blue to infrared. They can be used for any structure where space is at a premium such as aircraft, ships, and storm shelters. The devices can be used in advertising displays in shopping malls and convenience stores or on smaller venues such as cereal boxes or other mass market goods.
