Claims
- 1. An image sensor for sensing received image, comprising:
a substrate; a photo TFT disposed on the substrate to generate a photocurrent responsive to the received image, the photo TFT including,
a gate electrode, a source electrode coupled to the gate electrode, a drain electrode, and a semiconductor layer coupled to the source and drain electrodes; and a storage capacitor disposed on the substrate and coupled to the source electrode and drain electrode of the photo TFT, the storage capacitor storing a charge generated by the photocurrent.
- 2. The image sensor of claim 1 wherein the storage capacitor comprises a stacked capacitor.
- 3. The image sensor of claim 1 wherein the semiconductor layer includes a n+ layer in contact with the source and drain electrodes.
- 4. The image sensor of claim 1 wherein the source electrode and the drain electrode of the photo TFT each include a plurality of extending members, the extending members of the source electrode interdigitated with the extending members of the drain electrode.
- 5. The image sensor of claim 1 wherein the semiconductor layer of the photo TFT includes amorphous silicon.
- 6. The image sensor of claim 1 wherein the photo TFT includes a gate insulator disposed between the respective gate electrode and semiconductor layer and preventing contact between the gate electrode and the semiconductor layer.
- 7. The image sensor of claim 1 wherein the gate electrode is selected from a group consisting of Cu, Cr, Al, Ta, and Ti.
- 8. The image sensor of claim 1 further comprising a passivation layer disposed on the photo TFT.
- 9. The image sensor of claim 8 wherein the passivation layer is selected from the group consisting of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, and tantalum oxide.
- 10. The image sensor of claim 1 further comprising a screen disposed adjacent the photo TFT to convert received x-rays to visible light.
- 11. An image sensor for sensing a received image, comprising:
a substrate; a photo TFT disposed on the substrate to generate a photocurrent responsive to the received image, the photo TFT including,
a gate electrode, a source electrode coupled to the gate electrode, a drain electrode, and a semiconductor layer coupled to the source and drain electrodes; a storage capacitor disposed on the substrate and coupled to the source electrode and drain electrode of the photo TFT, the storage capacitor storing a charge generated by the photocurrent; and a readout TFT disposed on the substrate, including,
a gate electrode coupled to a select line, a source electrode coupled to the drain electrode of the photo TFT, a drain electrode coupled to a data line, and a semiconductor layer coupled to the source and drain electrodes.
- 12. The image sensor of claim 11 wherein the storage capacitor comprises a stacked capacitor.
- 13. The image sensor of claim 12 wherein the storage capacitor includes a center electrode coupled to the source electrode of the readout TFT.
- 14. The image sensor of claim 11 wherein the semiconductor layer of the photo TFT includes a n+ layer in contact with the source and drain electrodes.
- 15. The image sensor of claim 11 wherein the source electrode and the drain electrode of the photo TFT each include a plurality of extending members, the extending members of the source electrode interdigitated with the extending members of the drain electrode.
- 16. The image sensor of claim 11 wherein the semiconductor layer of the photo TFT includes amorphous silicon.
- 17. The image sensor of claim 11 wherein the photo TFT and the readout TFT each include a gate insulator disposed between the respective gate electrode and semiconductor layer and preventing contact between the gate electrode and the semiconductor layer.
- 18. The image sensor of claim 11 wherein the gate electrode is selected from a group consisting of Cu, Cr, Al, Ta, and Ti.
- 19. The image sensor of claim 11 further comprising a passivation layer disposed on the photo TFT and the readout TFT.
- 20. The image sensor of claim 19 wherein the passivation layer is selected from the group consisting of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, and tantalum oxide.
- 21. The image sensor of claim 19 further comprising a light shield disposed on the passivation layer substantially above the readout TFT.
- 22. The image sensor of claim 11 further comprising a screen disposed adjacent the photo TFT to convert received x-rays to visible light.
- 23. An image sensor for sensing a received image, comprising:
a substrate; a plurality of bias lines disposed on the substrate; a plurality of data lines disposed on the substrate; a plurality of select lines disposed on the substrate; a plurality of photo TFTs disposed on the substrate to generate a photocurrent responsive to the received image, each photo TFT including,
a gate electrode coupled to a corresponding bias line, a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a semiconductor layer coupled to the source and drain electrodes; a plurality of storage capacitors disposed on the substrate, each storage capacitor coupled to the source electrode and drain electrode of a corresponding photo TFT, each storage capacitor storing a charge generated by a photocurrent; and a plurality of readout TFTs disposed on the substrate, each readout TFT including,
a gate electrode coupled to a corresponding select line, a source electrode coupled to the drain electrode of a corresponding photo TFT and coupled to the storage capacitor, a drain electrode coupled to a corresponding data line, and a semiconductor layer coupled to the source and drain electrodes, wherein each readout TFT passes a current to a corresponding date line in response to the discharge of a corresponding storage capacitor.
- 24. The image sensor of claim 23 wherein the gate electrode and the source electrode of the photo TFT are coupled to one another.
- 25. The image sensor of claim 23 wherein the semiconductor layers of each photo TFT and readout TFT include amorphous silicon.
- 26. The image sensor of claim 23 wherein the storage capacitors include a stacked capacitor.
- 27. The image sensor of claim 26 wherein each storage capacitor includes a center electrode coupled to the source electrode of a corresponding readout TFT.
- 28. The image sensor of claim 23 wherein the source electrode and the drain electrode of the photo TFTs each include a plurality of extending members, the extending members of the source electrode interdigitated with the extending members of the drain electrode.
- 29. The image sensor of claim 23 wherein each photo TFT and readout TFT include a gate insulator disposed between the respective gate electrode and semiconductor layer and preventing contact between the gate electrode and the semiconductor layer.
- 30. The image sensor of claim 23 further comprising a passivation layer disposed on each photo TFT and readout TFT.
- 31. The image sensor of claim 31 further comprising a plurality of light shields disposed on the passivation layer substantially above a corresponding readout TFT.
- 32. The image sensor of claim 23 further comprising a screen disposed adjacent to the photo TFTs to convert received X-rays to visible light.
- 33. An image sensor for sensing received image, comprising:
a substrate; a photo TFT disposed on the substrate to generate a photocurrent responsive to the received image, the photo TFT including,
a gate electrode, a source electrode, a drain electrode coupled to the gate electrode, and a semiconductor layer coupled to the source and drain electrodes; and a storage capacitor disposed on the substrate and coupled to the source electrode and drain electrode of the photo TFT, the storage capacitor storing a charge generated by the photocurrent.
- 34. The image sensor of claim 33 wherein the storage capacitor comprises a stacked capacitor.
- 35. The image sensor of claim 33 wherein the semiconductor layer includes a n+ layer in contact with the source and drain electrodes.
- 36. The image sensor of claim 33 wherein the source electrode and the drain electrode of the photo TFT each include a plurality of extending members, the extending members of the source electrode interdigitated with the extending members of the drain electrode.
- 37. The image sensor of claim 33 wherein the semiconductor layer of the photo TFT includes amorphous silicon.
- 38. The image sensor of claim 33 wherein the photo TFT includes a gate insulator disposed between the respective gate electrode and semiconductor layer and preventing contact between the gate electrode and the semiconductor layer.
- 39. The image sensor of claim 33 wherein the gate electrode is selected from a group consisting of Cu, Cr, Al, Ta, and Ti.
- 40. The image sensor of claim 33 further comprising a passivation layer disposed on the photo TFT.
- 41. The image sensor of claim 40 wherein the passivation layer is selected from the group consisting of silicon nitride, silicon oxide, and tantalum oxide.
- 42. The image sensor of claim 33 further comprising a screen disposed adjacent the photo TFT to convert received x-rays to visible light.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/217,798, filed Aug. 12, 2002 and entitled “Light Sensitive Display.” In addition, this application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/359,263, filed Feb. 2, 2002, also entitled “Light Sensitive Display.”
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60359263 |
Feb 2002 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10217798 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
Child |
10347149 |
Jan 2003 |
US |