White electroluminescence from hydrogenated amorphous-SiNx thin films

White electroluminescence (EL) was observed from hydrogenated amorphous-SiNx-based light-emitting device. Silicon nitride thin films were deposited on the indium-tin-oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method with a mixture of Ar-diluted 5% SiH4 and pure N2 gases, in the ratio 2 to 1. Measured x value of the film is 0.56, and the corresponding photoluminescence of a-SiN0.56:H thin film exhibited a red-infrared spectrum, centered at 630 nm. The layer structure of the EL device is ITO/a-SiN0.56:H (80 nm)/Al, with light emitting from the ITO layer, recognizable by the naked eye in the dark, under the 14 V forward bias conditions. White EL spectra from ∼400 to 750 nm, with a central peak at 560 nm, were observed in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride EL device. A carrier transport mechanism was suggested, and the EL was attributed to the recombination of carriers through the luminescent states.