Transcript Slide 1

Amorphous Silicon TFT LCD
Displays
Jonathan Brownstein
EECS 277A
Components of The LCD
1. Backlight
2. Polarizer
3. TFT Active Matrix on Glass
4. Liquid Crystal Material
5. Glass with Color Filter
6. Polarizer
7. Surface of Display
Backlight
• CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp)
- Apply enough voltage for little heat
• Shines light through LCD
• LCD based on allowing light through
Polarizers
• Polarizers allow only properly oriented light
through
TFT
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Thin Film Transistors
Put onto glass
Common substrate is glass
Common semiconductor layer is amorphous Si
- Bonds to glass
- Roll to roll processing
Fabrication of TFT
- Amorphous Si on Glass
- Cleaning
- Photoresist Coating
- Exposure to light
- Remove all photoresist
except the mask
- Expose to plasma
- Wet etch gets rid of excess Si
- Take away remaining photoresist
- Left with layer you want on glass
Placement in LCD
• Protective coating
• Pixel Electrode
• Placed on corner
• Put into array
• Gate electrode
• Data Bus
Active Matrix
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Addressing scheme
TFT set in an active matrix
Maintains pixel state
Black matrix surrounding pixel elements
Prevents cross-talk
- Creates higher contrast
- Only desired pixel receives a charge
• Pixel acts as a capacitor to hold the charge until
the next refresh cycle
Equivalent Circuit
• Data bus line
- Determines intensity
• Capacitors
- Storage capacitance part of gate bus line
- Stores voltage to activate liquid crystal cells
- Larger aperture ratio
- Reduces switching time
Liquid Crystals
• Relaxed phase is twisted
- Orients light so it passes through
• Matrix element is selected
- LC untwists and does not reorient light
• LC loses transparency as voltage
increase
• Loses transparency with increasing
voltage
Color Filter
• RGB filter for each pixel
• Design varies
- Stripe is more common
• Filter blocks wavelengths except ones in range of that pixel
• Polarizer sharpens color
Overview
Summary
• TFT LCDs represent the cutting edge in flatpanel-display technology
• Best technology yet developed for Active-matrix
displays
• Improvements being made:
- Lighter
- Smaller
- Faster
- Consuming less power
Thank You