Blue cathodoluminescence from tantalum zinc oxide

We have observed cathodoluminescence (CL) at low voltages (<50 V) with a peak at /spl sim/410 nm from tantalum zinc oxide, Ta/sub 2/Zn/sub 3/O/sub 8/, (TZO). The thin films were prepared by reacting Ta with ZnO on silicon and silicon dioxide substrates at elevated temperatures (1200/spl deg/C) using rapid thermal annealing. Subsequently, the bulk phase was synthesized from the powder raw materials, ZnO and Ta/sub 2/O/sub 5/ using ceramic techniques. The resulting material shows similar CL characteristics. No charging was observed during the CL measurements, indicating a conducting nature of the material. It is observed that TZO exhibits better blue both in thin film and bulk form, as compared to conventional ZnS:Ag, a blue CRT phosphor and zinc gallate, another low voltage blue phosphor.