Abstract: An electroluminescent edge emitting device having an improved operational life and electroluminescent efficiency includes a host material composed of at least two Group II elements and at least one element selected from Group VIA. The host material is doped with at least one of the rare earth elements in its 3+ or 2+ oxidation state. In one embodiment of the invention, two Group IIB elements are selected, namely cadmium and zinc. In an alternate embodiment, three Group IIA elements, magnesium, calcium and strontium, are selected as the host material. The Group VIA element is sulfide and/or selenide. The dopant is composed of one, two or three elements selected from the rare earth elements (lanthanides). In an alternate embodiment, the dopants include Mn.sup.2+ and one or two of the lanthanides.

Abstract: An electroluminescent device used as an illuminating source in a scanner. The device includes at least one solid-state electroluminescent element, which has a transparent electrode with a top surface, a radiation generating stack under the transparent electrode, and a second electrode with a bottom surface under the radiation generating stack. Radiation is generated from the radiation generating stack when a selected voltage source is coupled across the electrodes. Most of the radiation generated is emitted either from the top surface or from (the top and the bottom surfaces). When the scanner scans a medium, the emitted radiation is substantially uniform at least across the top surface of the transparent electrode to create a uniform radiation source for illuminating the medium.

Abstract: A broadband line source that is directional, rugged, compact, spatially and temporally uniform, stable, without the need for warmup, and relatively easy to implement. The source can be in single-color or multi-color, and it can be used, for example, in a scanner. In one embodiment, the line source includes a first thin-film electroluminescent stack with at least a bottom electrode, a top electrode, and a first active film between the two electrodes. The active film generates radiation in an area that has a width and a length, with the length being larger than the width. The length of the area sets the length of the line radiation, which is substantially homogenous along the line. In another embodiment, three of such stacks are encapsulated through thin-film processes by a cap, which sits on a substrate. The cap has one side surface that is more transmissive to radiation.