Patent ID: 7320897

Claim:
A method for fabricating a silicon (Si) nanotip electroluminescence (EL) diode, the method comprising: forming a plurality of Si nanotip diodes, where each nanotip diode is p/n junction nanotip structure, as follows: forming a reactive ion etching (RIE)-induced polymer grass overlying a top surface of the substrate; using the RIE-induced polymer grass as a mask, etching areas of the substrate not covered by the mask as follows: etching using SF 6 and C 4 F 8 chemistries; etching exposed portions of a Si n+ layer; and exposing regions of the underlying Si p-well; and forming the nanotip diodes in areas of the substrate covered by the mask; forming a Si oxide phosphor layer overlying the nanotip diodes as follows: following the exposure of underlying regions of the p-well, removing the remaining RIE-induced polymer grass, exposing n+ Si regions; thermally oxidizing the exposed n+ and exposed p-well Si regions; growing 1 to 5 nanometers (nm) of silicon oxide; and depositing silicon oxide overlying the thermally grown silicon oxide; and forming a top electrode overlying the Si phosphor layer.