Wide-Area Thermal Processing of Light-Emitting Materials

Silicon carbide based materials and devices have been successfully exploited for diverse electronic applications. However, they have not achieved the same success as Si technologies due to higher material cost and higher processing temperatures required for device development. Traditionally, SiC is not considered for optoelectronic applications because it has an indirect bandgap. However, AppliCote Associates, LLC has developed a laser-based doping process which enables light emission in SiC through the creation of embedded p-n junctions. AppliCote laser irradiation of silicon carbide allows two different interaction mechanisms: (1) Laser conversion or induced phase transformation which creates carbon rich regions that have conductive properties. These conductive regions are required for interconnection to the light emitting semiconducting region. (2) Laser doping which injects external dopant atoms into the substrate that introduces deep level transition states that emit light when electrically excited. The current collaboration with AppliCote has focused on the evaluation of ORNL's unique Pulse Thermal Processing (PTP) technique as a replacement for laser processing. Compared to laser processing, Pulse Thermal Processing can deliver similar energy intensities (20-50 kW/cm2) over a much larger area (up to 1,000 cm2) at a lower cost and much higher throughput. The main findings of our investigation; which are significant for the realization of SiC based optoelectronic devices, are as follows: (1) The PTP technique is effective in low thermal budget activation of dopants in SiC similar to the laser technique. The surface electrical conductivity of the SiC samples improved by about three orders of magnitude as a result of PTP processing which is significant for charge injection in the devices; (2) The surface composition of the SiC film can be modified by the PTP technique to create a carbon-rich surface (increased local C:Si ratio from 1:1 to 2.9:1). This is significant as higher thermal and electrical conductivities of the surface layer are critical for a successful development of integrated optoelectronic devices; and (3) PTP provides low thermal budget dopant activation with a controlled depth profile, which can be exploited for high performance device development with selective patterning of the substrate. This project has successfully demonstrated that a low thermal budget annealing technique, such as PTP, is critical to defining the path for low cost electronic devices integrated on glass or polymeric substrates. This project is complimentary to the goals of the Solid State Lighting Program within DOE. It involves new manufacturing techniques for light emitting materials that are potentially much lower cost and energy efficient than existing products. Significant opportunity exists for further exploration of AppliCote's material and device technology in combination with ORNL's PTP technique, modeling, and characterization capabilities