Ultra-high resolution liquid crystal display on silicon-on-sapphire

A method for fabricating a monolithically integrated liquid crystal array display and control circuitry on a silicon-on-sapphire structure, comprising the steps of:

• a) forming an epitaxial silicon layer on a sapphire substrate to create a silicon-on-sapphire structure;
• b) ion implanting silicon ions into said epitaxial silicon layer at a dosage of about 1014 cm−2, at an energy level of about 185 keV, and at a temperature of about −20° C.;
• c) immersing said silicon-on-sapphire structure in a nitrogen atmosphere having a temperature of about 550° C. for approximately 30 minutes;
• d) increasing the temperature of said nitrogen atmosphere in which said silicon-on-sapphire structure is immersed from about 550° C. to about 900° C. in about one hour;
• e) annealing said silicon-on sapphire structure in said nitrogen atmosphere for about one hour at 900° C.;
• and
• f) oxidizing said epitaxial silicon layer in an oxygen atmosphere having a temperature of about 1000° C. to form a silicon dioxide layer from portion of said epitaxial silicon layer so that a thinned epitaxial silicon layer remains;
• g) removing said silicon dioxide layer to expose said thinned epitaxial silicon layer;
• h) fabricating an array of pixels from said thinned epitaxial silicon layer wherein each of said pixels includes a liquid crystal capacitor;
• and
• i) fabricating integrated circuitry from said thinned epitaxial silicon layer which is operably coupled to modulate said pixels.