Experimental results on the fabrication parameters of ZnS: Mn phosphor layer in inorganic thick dielectric electroluminescent (TDEL) displays

TDEL devices were fabricated at various ZnS: Mn phosphor fabrication parameters. ZnS: Mn phosphor of all devices was formed by electron beam evaporation from ZnS: Mn powder with 1.2 wt. % Mn content. The brightness of TDEL devices was affected by the phosphor fabrication parameters, such as deposition rate, substrate temperature and annealing temperature. The optimal deposition rate and substrate temperature were 5-8 Å/s and 280°C, respectively, and led to the biggest brightness of TDEL devices. The luminescent properties of TDEL devices was improved by an annealing process of ZnS: Mn layer, and the most optimal brightness-voltage curve (that is, the biggest brightness and the steepest curve) of TDEL devices was obtained by an annealing temperature of 500°C. The improvement of luminescent properties of TDEL devices by the optimal substrate temperature and annealing temperature of ZnS: Mn layer was attributed to the crystalline improvement of ZnS: Mn layer and the uniform diffusion of Mn⁺.