Implementation of thin-film transistor de-multiplexer for integrated backplane drivers

将薄膜驱动电子器件简化并直接集成到显示器和传感器阵列的背板上的能力，使大面积电子器件更容易制造，并为机械柔性系统提供了一条途径。例如，手机和笔记本电脑上的4K电视和视网膜显示器的普及需要比传统显示器高四倍的像素密度，从而增加了对外围驱动电路的需求。容纳4倍的驱动程序是4K显示器制造商面临的主要挑战。为背板阵列中每一行和每一列所需的越来越多的连接盘和相应的驱动器分配空间也变得越来越困难。同样，对于高分辨率图像传感器，需要处理大量像素，这使得用于医疗诊断的电子背板设计和制造成本变得复杂。新兴的柔性电子技术还承诺以低成本实现机械灵活性，但受到用于处理像素阵列的刚性和高成本CMOS驱动器的阻碍。拟议的项目将建立在最近开发的薄膜晶体管逻辑电路，以提高功率，能源效率和降低薄膜晶体管（TFTs）显示背板的成本。提出的解复用器的实现有可能将行选择垫和相关驱动器的数量减少50%，因此显着降低显示成本和重量，同时提高能源效率。2016年由第三方进行的市场研究证实并支持了我们对该技术潜力的初步评估。

The capability to simplify and integrate thin-film driver electronics directly onto the backplane of display and sensor array enables large-area electronics that are simpler to fabricate and provides a pathway towards mechanically flexible systems. For example, the popularity of 4K TVs and retina displays on phones and laptops require four times greater pixel density than conventional displays, increasing the demand on peripheral driver circuits. Accommodating four times as many drivers is a major challenge that 4K display manufacturers face. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to allocate space for an increasing number of connecting pads and the corresponding drivers required for each row and column in a backplane array. Similarly, for high-resolution image sensors, the need to address a high number of pixels complicates the electronic backplane design and fabrication cost for medical diagnostics. The emerging flexible electronics technology also promises mechanical flexibility at low cost but is encumbered by rigid and high-cost CMOS drivers used to address an array of pixels.The proposed project will build upon recently developed thin-film transistor logic circuitry to enhance the power, energy efficiency and reduce cost of thin-film transistor (TFTs) display backplane. The proposed implementation of de-multiplexers has the potential to reduce the number of row select pads and associated drivers by 50%, therefore significantly reducing display cost, weight while increasing energy efficiency. The carried out market research in 2016 by a third party substantiates and supports our initial assessment of the potential of the technology.