Silicon-on-sapphire display with audio transducer and method of fabricating same
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsStephen D. Russell, Randy L. Shimabukuro, Bruce W. Offord
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Abstract
A liquid crystal display includes: a) a sapphire substrate; b) a single crystal silicon structure disposed on the sapphire substrate to create a silicon-on-sapphire structure; c) a plurality of liquid crystal capacitors disposed on the silicon-on-sapphire structure; d) integrated self-aligned circuitry formed from the crystal silicon structure, where the circuitry modulates the liquid crystal capacitors such that a video image is generated; and e) an integrated audio transducer disposed on the silicon-on-sapphire structure for generating an audible signal.
Claims15
A liquid crystal display, comprising:
- a sapphire substrate having a first crystal lattice structure;
- a single crystal silicon structure disposed on said sapphire substrate to create a silicon-on-sapphire structure,
- wherein said crystal silicon structure has a thickness no greater than about 100 nanometers, and
- wherein said crystal silicon structure has a second crystal lattice structure oriented by said first crystal lattice structure;
- a plurality of liquid crystal capacitors disposed on said silicon-on-sapphire structure;
- integrated self-aligned circuitry formed from said crystal silicon structure for modulating said liquid crystal capacitors such that said plurality of liquid crystal capacitors generate a video image;
- and
- an audio transducer integrated on said silicon-on-sapphire structure for generating an audible signal.
A method of fabricating a monolithically integrated crystal array display and control circuitry on a silicon-on-sapphire structure, comprising the steps of:
- affixing a single crystal silicon structure to a sapphire substrate having a first crystal lattice structure to create a silicon-on-sapphire structure, wherein said crystal silicon structure has a thickness no greater than about 100 nanometers and a second crystal lattice structure oriented by said first crystal lattice structure;
- ion implanting said single crystal silicon structure with a species selected from the group consisting of:
- silicon ions, tin ions, germanium ions, and carbon ions to create an ion-implanted silicon layer;
- annealing said silicon-on-sapphire structure;
- oxidizing said ion-implanted silicon layer to form a silicon dioxide layer from a portion of said silicon layer so that a thinned, ion-implanted silicon layer remains;
- removing said silicon dioxide layer to expose said thinned ion-implanted silicon layer;
- fabricating transistors wherein each of said transistors is formed by patterning said thinned ion-implanted silicon layer to create a patterned silicon layer;
- growing a gate oxide on said patterned silicon layer;
- forming a polysilicon layer over said silicon-on-sapphire structure;
- doping said polysilicon layer;
- patterning said polysilicon layer and said gate oxide to form a gate region and to expose selected regions of said thinned, ion-implanted silicon layer;
- ion-implanting said selected regions of said silicon layer to create source and drain regions in said silicon layer that are self-aligned with said gate region;
- fabricating electrical contacts that are electrically connected to said transistors;
- monolithically fabricating an audio transducer on said silicon-on-sapphire structure;
- and
- fabricating liquid crystal capacitors on said silicon-on-sapphire structure that are electrically connected to said transistors by said electrical contacts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.