Lv Zhou

Pixel circuits are key components of flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light-emitting diode displays (OLEDs), and micro light-emitting diode displays (micro-LEDs). Depending on the active layer material of the thin film transistor (TFT), pixel circuits are categorised into amorphous silicon (a-Si) technology, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) technology, metal oxide (MO) technology, and low-temperature polycrystalline silicon and oxide (LTPO) technology. In this review, we outline the fundamental display principles and four major TFT technologies, covering conventional single-gated TFTs to novel two-gated TFTs. We focus on novel pixel circuits for three glass-based display technologies with additional mention of pixel circuits for silicon-based OLED and silicon-based micro-LED.

Micro-LED display technology is considered to be the next generation of display technology, which has the characteristics of high miniaturization, thin film and integration, as well as the advantages of high brightness, high contrast, fast response speed and long service life. However, in the development of Micro-LED display technology, there are still some technical and cost problems to be solved. This paper focuses on the key technologies involved in Micro-LED display technology, such as chip technology, mass transfer, full-color display, bonding and driving technology, the research history and frontier progress of these technologies are reviewed in detail. For chip epitaxy technology, the wavelength uniformity, current density and defect control are emphasized; for chip process, the two main chip structures and the challenges brought by miniaturization are discussed emphatically; for chip integration, full-color display, backplane bonding and driving, several mainstream technical schemes are summarized in turn. Finally, the chip detection and repair technologies and commercial application are introduced.