Application of Self-Aligned Amorphous SI Thin-Film Transistors

We have successfully used self-aligned Amorphous Si Thin-Film Transistors, fabricated by a laser doping/annealing process, to construct dynamic shift register circuits, which can be used as gate-line drivers or in other peripheral circuits for flat-panel displays and imagers. Taking advantage of easily scaling down the TFT channel length in a self-aligned process, much higher circuit speeds can be achieved compared to that of circuits using conventional TFTs. We have successfully demonstrated a four-phase dynamic shift register, operating at a clock speed higher that 250 kHz (1 μs for each clock phase) built on 3 μm channel length TFTs. This new technology opens up possibilities for integrating peripheral circuits in flat-panel displays and imagers based on a-Si TFTs.