Miniature Featherweight Semiconductor Microlaser Array Display

THE GOAL OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP COMPACT, LIGHTWEIGHT, HIGH BRIGHTNESS MULTICHROME AND MONOCHROME PROJECTION DISPLAYS USING VISIBLE LASER DIODE ARRAYS. THIS REVOLUTIONARY ALTERNATIVE TO CRT-TYPE AND FLAT-PANEL DISPLAYS CONSISTS OF DIODE LASER ARRAYS WHICH ARE IDEAL PROJECTION DISPLAY DEVICES. THE DEVICES WOULD BE COMPACT, LIGHTWEIGHT, RELIABLE, CONSUME LOW POWER, AND BE VERY BRIGHT. WE PROPOSE TO (1) DEVELOP AN APPROACH FOR A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT VISUAL PROJECTION DISPLAY DEMONTRATION, (2) DETERMINE THE OPTIMUM SCANNING TECHNIQUE FOR LASER DIODE ARRAY BEAM COMBINATION FOR MULTICHROME AND MONOCHROME PROJECTION DISPLAY ARCHITECTURE, AND (4) DEVELOP A PHASE II PROGRAM TO (I) BUILD A PROTOTYPE DISPLAY AND (II) COMMERCIALIZE THE DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO CONDUCT THE NECESSARY DESIGN, EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE COMPONENTS OF THE DISPLAY SYSTEM IN ORDER THAT PHASE II HIGH RESOLUTION DISPLAYS CAN BE REALIZED. NO OTHER DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY, TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, WILL HAVE THESE ATTRIBUTES POSSESSED BY LASER DIODE ARRAYS. THE PROPOSED DISPLAYS FOR MANY MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS. 218 ASTROPOWER PROPOSES TO DEVELOP A NEW FRONT-ILLUMINATED, ALUMINUM GALLIUM PHOSPHIDE (AlGaP) BASED, CHARGE-COUPLED DEVICE (CCD), ULTRAVIOLET (UV) IMAGING ARRAY. THIS NOVEL ARRAY TECHNOLOGY HAS NEVER BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPED. THREE NEW INNOVATIONS WILL BE NECESSARY TO ACOMPLISH THE AlGaP CCD. THESE ARE: AlGaP MATERIAL QUALITY WHICH CAN SUPPORT A CCD DEVICE; THE GROWTH OF A NATIVE OXIDE ON THE AlGaP; AND THE USE OF A TRANSPARENT GATE ELECTRODE. IT WILL COMBINE THE KEY FEATURES OF THE HIGH BANDGAP AND EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY OF EPITAXIAL AlGaP WITH THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED INNOVATIONS. THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN IS SHOWN IN FIGURE 1. A UNIQUE PLANAR FABRICATION PROCESS BASED ON DEVICE-QUALITY NATIVE OXIDES GROWN ON HIGH Al-COMPPOSITION AlGaP LAYERS WILL BE DEVELOPED. ASTROPOWER'S PRIOR EXPERIENCE WITH LIQUID PHASE EPITAXIAL GROWTH AND FABRICATION OF HIGH QUALITY GALLIUM PHOSPHIDE DEVICES WILL BE USED TO APPLY THE AlGaP INNOVATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERIOR UV-CCD DEVICES. THE PROPOSED ARRAY WILL MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF SPACE MISSIONS FOR NON-SILICON, HIGH-QUANTUM EFFICIENCY, LOW-NOISE