INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PLANARIZATION FOR FERROELECTRIC LIQUID CRYSTAL HYBRID OPTO-ELECTRONIC DEVICES

FERROELECTRIC LIQUID CRYSTALS (FLCS) ARE FAST (10 MICROSECONDS), LOW-VOLTAGE, LOW-POWER ELECTRO-OPTIC MATERIALS THAT ARE VERY SUITABLE FOR HYDRIBIZATION WITH VLSI CIRCUITS TO MAKE A VARIETY OF NOVEL OPTO-ELECTRONIC DEVICES, E.G. 265 X 256 SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATORS WITH 10 KHZ FRAME RATES. SINCE THE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT (IC) MUST SERVE IN THESE DEVICES ALSO AS AN OPTCAL SUBSTRATE, SMOOTHING OF CIRCUIT TOPOGRAPHY IS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE ACCEPTABLE DEVICE OPTICAL UNIFORMITY. WE PROPOSE HERE TO ADAPT IC WAFER-SCALE PLANARIZATION PROCESSES FOR VLSI/FLC HYBRID DEVICES. WE ALSO PROPOSE TO DEVELOP NOVEL DIE-SCALE PLANARIZATION PROCESSES TO ENABLE FABRICATION OF SMALL QUANTITIES OF "APPLICATION-SPECIFIC" OPTO-ELECTRONIC DEVICES.