Introduction
"An entire electronic product integrated on a single substrate"
At the dawn of the mobile multi-media age, high resolution liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are becoming the central feature of many consumer products. From camcorders to notebook PCs, Sharp is a world supplier of these displays. At the forefront of this trend, Sharp Laboratories of Europe (SLE) is actively researching next generation Thin Film Transistor (TFT) display technology.
Today's highest performance TFT displays are fabricated using poly-Silicon TFTs, which offer improved performance over conventional amorphous Silicon TFTs. Low temperature poly-Silicon (LPS) displays are setting the pace for high functionality personal information tools and audio-visual equipment, whilst high temperature poly-Silicon is finding widespread application in high resolution projectors for home and office use.
Sharp, in collaboration with Semiconductor Energy Laboratories, has developed a very high performance TFT technology, called Continuous Grain (CG) Silicon. Using a propriety crystallization technique, the new TFTs can achieve electron mobility in excess of 300cm2/Vs, which is higher than conventional poly-Silicon and comparable to single crystal Silicon.
The high performance of new TFT processes enables the monolithic integration of analogue and digital display driver circuits as well as other peripheral functions on the active matrix substrate. The resultant LCD modules have increased display functionality, performance and reliability. As this technology matures, we can look forward to entire electronic products integrated on a single substrate and ultra-compact "System On Panel" products in the future.
