Loading [MathJax]/extensions/MathMenu.js
A Novel Voltage-Feedback Pixel Circuit for AMOLED Displays | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE Xplore

A Novel Voltage-Feedback Pixel Circuit for AMOLED Displays


Abstract:

This study presents a novel voltage-modulated pixel circuit for active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) consisting of five n-type thin-film transistors (TFTs)...Show More

Abstract:

This study presents a novel voltage-modulated pixel circuit for active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) consisting of five n-type thin-film transistors (TFTs), one additional control signal, and one storage capacitor. The proposed circuit, which can be implemented in all-n-type and all-p-type low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) TFT technologies, successfully compensates for threshold voltage deviation of TFTs and facilitates correction of OLED degradation using a voltage feedback method. Simulation and experimental results for all-n-type TFTs indicate that the proposed pixel circuit reduced the nonuniformity brightness problem effectively by compensating for threshold voltage variation in TFTs and reduced the degradation of emission efficiency in OLEDs.
Published in: Journal of Display Technology ( Volume: 4, Issue: 1, March 2008)
Page(s): 54 - 60
Date of Publication: 15 February 2008

ISSN Information:

References is not available for this document.

I. Introduction

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technology has been widely studied recently. The OLED display technology has several properties such as it is light weight, has fast response time, a wide viewing angle, high efficiency and flexibility [1]–[3]. Although a passive matrix OLED (PMOLED) is easier to realize than active-matrix OLEDs (AMOLEDs), PMOLEDs are only utilized for low-level products, simply because of its generation of high power consumption when applied to large areas or high-resolution displays, and high instantaneous luminance degrades OLED devices. Therefore, large high-resolution displays typically use AMOLED structures [1], [4]. An AMOLED pixel circuit can be fabricated using amorphous silicon (a-Si) or low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS). The a-Si technology generates excellent uniformity over large areas and it is frequently utilized in active matrix liquid crystal displays. Although this technology is popular for industry for its economical manufacturing costs, however, a-Si technology provides low mobility and cannot be used in p-type devices [5]. Moreover, the stability of a-Si thin-film transistors (TFTs) is poor, with threshold voltage shifts due to electrical stress over time [6]. Conversely, the LTPS provides complementary TFTs (n-type and p-type TFTs) and high current capability due to the higher mobility than that of a-Si. However, the mismatch in different TFT parameters, including mobility and , are inevitable problems due to the uncontrollable gate oxide trap density and random distribution of grain boundaries in the material [7]. The effect of temporal shift in a-Si TFTs on the display uniformity is the same as the spatial -mismatch in poly-Si TFTs. Consequently, several compensation methods, such as voltage driving [8]–[17], current-driving [18]–[20], digital-driving [21], [22], and AC-driving methods have been developed [23]. However, these compensation schemes only resolve the problem associated with threshold voltage shift, and the degradation of emission efficiency due to OLED device decay remains a primary concern, resulting in image burn-in and short product lifetime. Hence, several methods, such as optical feedback compensation [24], [25], LUT-based compensation [26], and circuit compensation [12], [16], [17], have been utilized to minimize OLED degradation. The optical feedback scheme can detect OLED degradation, thereby facilitating correction of both TFT drift and OLED degradation simultaneously. However, strong wavelength dependence on photon efficiency and sensitivity to ambient light are disadvantages of optical feedback. The LUT-based technique effectively reduces differential aging using the embedded compensation model; however, establishing exactly the OLED degradation profile is complex. Lee et al. [12] recently proposed the 6T1C circuit compensation pixel circuit that successfully minimizes any decrease in OLED current caused by threshold voltage degradation of a-Si TFTs and OLEDs. Although the 6T1C circuit, which is independent of threshold voltage of TFTs and OLEDs, provides highly stable OLED current, luminance drops are still caused by OLED degradation [12], [27]. This study presents a novel pixel circuit with a feedback structure that detects the OLED aging and generates additional current to reduce the effect of the decline in luminance. This circuit can be implemented in LTPS and a-Si TFT technologies as well as all-p-type and all-n-type TFTs. Compared to the 6T1C pixel circuit proposed by Lee et al. [12], the proposed pixel circuit decreased one TFT and is beneficial to aperture ratio.

Select All
1.
R. Dawson, Z. Shen, D. A. Furest, S. Connor, J. Hsu, M. G. Kane, et al., "The impact of the transient response of organic light emittingdiodes on the design of active matrix OLED displays", IEDM Tech. Dig., pp. 875-878, 1998.
2.
M. Stewart, R. S. Howell, L. Pires, M. K. Hatalis, W. Howard and O. Prache, "PolysiliconVGA active matrix OLED displays—Technology and performance", IEDM Tech. Dig., pp. 871-874, 1998.
3.
C. C. Wu, C. W. Chen, C. L. Lin and C. J. Yang, "Advancedorganic light-emitting devices for enhancing display performances", J. Display Technol., vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 248-266, Dec. 2005.
4.
M. Kimura, I. Yudasaka, S. Kanbe, H. Kobayashi, H. Kiguchi, S. I. Seki, et al., "Low-temperature polysilicon thin-film transistordriving with integrated driver for high-resolution light emitting polymerdisplay", IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 46, no. 12, pp. 2282-2288, Dec. 1999.
5.
A. Nathan, A. Kumar, K. Sakariya, P. Servati, S. Sambandan and D. Striakhilev, "Amorphoussilicon thin film transistor circuit integration for organic LED displayson glass and plastic", IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 1477-1486, Sep. 2004.
6.
M. J. Powell, C. Berkel and J. R. Hughes, "Time and temperature dependence of instability mechanismsin amorphous silicon thin-film transistors", Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 54, pp. 1323-1325, Jan. 1989.
7.
T. F. Chen, C. F. Yeh and J. C. Lou, "Investigation of grain boundary control in the drain junctionon laser-crystalized poly-si thin film transistors", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 24, no. 7, pp. 457-459, Jul. 2003.
8.
Y. H. Tai, B. T. Chen, Y. J. Kuo, C. C. Tsai, K. Y. Chiang, Y. J. Wei, et al., "A new pixel circuit for driving organic light emitting diodeswith low temperature polycrystalline thin film transistors", J. Display Technol., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 100-104, Sept. 2005.
9.
J. C. Goh, H. J. Chung, J. Jang and C. H. Han, "Anew pixel circuit for active matrix organic light emitting diodes", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 23, no. 9, pp. 544-546, Sep. 2002.
10.
J. C. Goh, J. Jang, K. S. Cho and C. K. Kim, "Anew a-Si:H thin-film transistor pixel circuit for active-matrix organic light-emittingdiodes", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 583-585, Sep. 2003.
11.
S. H. Jung, W. J. Nam and M. K. Han, "A new voltage- modulated AMOLED pixel design compensatingfor threshold voltage variation in poly-Si TFTs", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 25, no. 10, pp. 690-692, Oct. 2004.
12.
J. H. Lee, J. H. Kim and M. K. Han, "A new a-Si:H TFT pixel circuit compensating the thresholdvoltage shift of a-Si:H TFT and OLED for active matrix OLED", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 26, no. 12, pp. 897-899, Dec. 2005.
13.
H. S. Shin, J. H. Lee, K. S. Shin and M. K. Han, "New pixel driving scheme based a-Si:H TFTs by eliminatingthe switching TFTs in the OLED current path for low power consumption", Proc. IDW, pp. 657-660, 2005.
14.
H. Y. Lu, P. T. Liu, T. C. Chang and S. Chi, "Enhancement of brightness uniformityby a new voltage-modulated pixel design for AMOLED displays", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 27, no. 9, pp. 743-745, Sep. 2006.
15.
G. R. Chaji and A. Nathan, "A stable voltage-programmed pixel circuit for a-Si:H AMOLEDdisplays", J. Display Technol., vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 347-358, Dec. 2006.
16.
C. L. Lin and Y. C. Chen, "A novel LTPS-TFT pixel circuit compensating for TFT threshold-voltageshift and OLED degradation for AMOLED", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 129-131, Feb. 2007.
17.
S. J. Ashtiani, G. R. Chaji and A. Nathan, "AMOLED pixel circuit with electronic compensation of luminancedegradation", J. Display Technol., vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 36-39, Mar. 2007.
18.
Y. He, R. Hottori and J. Kanicki, "Current-sourcea-Si:H thin-film transistor circuit for active-matrix organic light-emittingdisplays", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 21, pp. 590-592, Nov. 2000.
19.
J. H. Lee, W. J. Nam, S. H. Jung and M. K. Han, "A new current scaling pixel circuit for AMOLED", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 280-282, May 2004.
20.
Y. C. Lin, H. P. D. Shieh and J. Kanicki, "A novel current-scaling a-Si:H TFTs pixel electrode circuitfor AM-OLEDs", IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 52, pp. 1123-1131, June 2005.
21.
H. Akimoto, H. Kageyama, Y. Shimizu, H. Awakura, S. Nishitani and T. Sato, "An innovative pixel-driving scheme for 64-level gray-scalefull-color active matrix OLED displays", SID Tech. Dig., pp. 972-975, 2002.
22.
H. Akimoto, H. Kageyama, Y. Shimizu, H. Awakura, N. Kasai, N. Tokuda, et al., "TwoTFT pixel circuit with non-uniformity suppress-function for voltage programmingactive matrix OLED displays", SID Tech. Dig., pp. 1550-1553, 2005.
23.
Y. C. Lin and H. P. D. Shsieh, "Improvement of brightness uniformity by AC driving schemefor AMOLED display", IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 25, no. 11, pp. 728-730, Nov. 2004.
24.
A. Giraldo, M. J. Childs, D. Fish, M. T. Johnson, M. Klein, H. Lifka, et al., "Optical feedback in active matrix polymerOLED displays", IEEE LEOS 16th Annu. Meeting, vol. 2, pp. 529-530, 2003.
25.
D. Fish, N. Young, S. Deane, A. Steer, D. George, A. Giraldo, et al., "Optical feedback for AMOLED display compensation using LTPSand a-Si:H technologies", SID Tech. Dig., pp. 1340-1343, 2005.
26.
D. A. Torres, P. F. Lister and P. Newbury, "LUT-based compensation model for OLED degradation", J. Soc. Inf. Display, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 435-441, May 2005.
27.
P. E. Burrow, S. R. Forrest, T. X. Zhou and L. Michalski, "Operating lifetime of phosphorescent organic light emittingdevices", Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 76, no. 18, pp. 2493-2495, May 2000.
Contact IEEE to Subscribe

References

References is not available for this document.