A technological evolution from bulk crystalline age to multilayered thin film age in optoelectronic devices

A new trend in semiconductor optoelectronics is predicted and discussed in view of a technological evolution from the bulk crystalline age to the multilayered thin film age. Firstly, recent progress of thin film fabrication technologies for active materials of optoelectronic devices is reviewed, and their significances such as wide area, low temperature growth etc., are pointed out from currently developed live technologies. Secondly, some new kind of functional devices utilized by the full use of multilayered thin film growth technology is introduced. With the aid of recent advances in microfabrication technology on these multilayered thin films, the development of a new type of display devices such as a tunable color EL display, a full color EL display made of new materials is introduced. In the final part of this paper, the current state of the art in the field of optoelectronics with these newly developed functional devices is reviewed, and their market expansion toward the 21st century is forecast.