Memory in thin-film electroluminescent devices

The characteristics of thin-film electroluminescent devices made from ZnS and exhibiting hysteretic behavior are reviewed. The nature of the hysteresis (which leads to display devices with inherent memory), the switching characteristics, and some of the empirical requirements for observing the phenomenon are described and discussed. This background is used as a basis for a discussion of device operation, leading to a description of a phenomenological model which has been developed to explain the hysteretic behavior. Some technological difficulties associated with the phenomenon are also described. © 1981.