This application claims the benefit of Korea Patent Application No. 10-2009-0113979 filed on Nov. 24, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
1. Field
This document relates to an organic light emitting diode display, and more particularly, to an organic light emitting diode display, which can reduce image sticking caused by the deterioration of an organic light emitting diode, and a driving method thereof.
2. Related Art
Recently, organic light emitting diode displays spotlighted as display devices have the advantages of a rapid response speed, high emission efficiency, high luminance, and wide viewing angle by using a self-luminous device, which emits light by itself.
An organic light emitting diode display has an organic light emitting diode as shown in
The organic compound layers comprise a hole injection layer HIL, a hole transport layer a hole transport layer HTL, an emission layer EML, an electron transport layer ETL, and an electron injection layer EIL. When a driving voltage is applied to the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, holes passing through the hole transport layer HTL and electrons passing through the electron transport layer ETL move to the emission layer EML to form excitons. As a result, the emission layer EML generates visible light.
The organic light emitting diode display includes a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, each pixel including the organic light emitting diode. The organic light emitting diode controls the brightness of selected pixels in accordance with the gray scale of video data.
The switching TFT SW is turned on in response to a scan pulse received through the gate line GL, and thus a current path between a source electrode and a drain electrode of the switching TFT SW is turned on. During on-time of the switching TFT SW, a data voltage received from the data line DL is applied to a gate electrode of the driving TFT DT and the storage capacitor Cst. The driving TFT DT controls a current flowing in the organic light emitting diode OLED depending on a voltage difference Vgs between the gate electrode and a source electrode of the driving TFT DR. The storage capacitor Cst keeps a gate potential of the driving TFT DR during a frame period. The organic light emitting diode OLED may have a structure shown in
In general, non-uniformity between luminances of pixels occurs due to various causes, e.g., a difference in the electrical characteristics of driving TFTs, a difference in high potential driving voltage according to display positions, and a difference in the deterioration of organic light emitting diodes. Particularly, the difference in the deterioration of organic light emitting diodes occurs because the rate of deterioration varies from pixel to pixel in the case of long time driving. When this difference becomes severe, an image sticking phenomenon occurs. As a result, picture quality is deteriorated.
To compensate for the difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes, an external compensation technique and an internal compensation technique are known.
In the external compensation technique, a current source is placed outside a pixel, a constant current is applied to the organic light emitting diode via the current source, and then a voltage corresponding to the current is measured, thereby compensating for the difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diode. However, this technique requires all the parasitic capacitors of the data lines to be charged by current flowing in the data lines between the current source and the organic light emitting diode in order to sense an anode voltage of the organic light emitting diode, thus making the sensing speed very slow and lengthening the time required for the sensing. As a result, it is difficult to sense an anode voltage of the organic light emitting diode during time periods between adjacent frames or during the on/off of the display device.
In the internal compensation technique, a coupling capacitor is connected between the anode of the organic light emitting diode and a gate of the driving TFT to automatically reflect the degree of deterioration of the organic light emitting diode to a current flowing in the organic light emitting diode. However, with this technique, it is difficult to perform an accurate compensation because the magnitude of current is varied depending on the turn-on voltage of the organic light emitting diode using the current expression of the driving TFT, and a complicated pixel structure is required. Since the rate of deterioration of the organic light emitting diode is low, it is not necessary to compensate for the difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes while making the pixel structure complicated.
An organic light emitting diode display, comprises: a display panel comprising a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix at intersections of gate line portions and data line portions and each having an organic light emitting diode; a memory for storing compensation data; a timing controller for modulating input digital video data based on the compensation data and generating modulated data; and a data driving circuit for, during compensation driving, generating the compensation data to compensate for a difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes by supplying a sensing voltage to the pixels and sampling the threshold voltage of the organic light emitting diodes, which is fed back from the pixels, and for, during normal driving, converting the modulated data into a data voltage and supplying the data voltage to the pixels.
Another exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides an organic light emitting diode display, comprising: a display panel comprising a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix at intersections of gate line portions and data line portions and each having an organic light emitting diode and a driving TFT; a memory for storing compensation data; a timing controller for modulating input digital video data based on the compensation data and generating modulated data; and a data driving circuit for, during compensation driving, generating the compensation data to compensate for a difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes and a difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs by supplying first and second sensing voltages to the pixels and sampling the threshold voltage of the organic light emitting diodes and the threshold voltage of the driving TFTs, which are fed back from the pixels, and for, during normal driving, converting the modulated data into a data voltage and supplying the data voltage to the pixels.
One exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a driving method of an organic light emitting diode display comprising a plurality of pixels each having an organic light emitting diode and connected to data lines, the method comprising: (A) generating compensation data to compensate for a difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes by supplying a sensing voltage to the pixels and sampling the threshold voltage of the organic light emitting diodes, which is fed back from the pixels; (B) generating modulated data by modulating input digital video data based on the compensation data; and (C) converting the modulated data into a data voltage and supplying the data voltage to the pixels.
Another exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a driving method of an organic light emitting diode display comprising a plurality of pixels each having an organic light emitting diode and a driving TFT and connected to data lines, the method comprising: (A) generating compensation data to compensate for a difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes and a difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs by supplying first and second sensing voltages to the pixels and sampling the threshold voltage of the organic light emitting diodes and the threshold voltage of the driving TFTs, which are fed back from the pixels; (B) generating modulated data by modulating input digital video data based on the compensation data; and (C) converting the modulated data into a data voltage and supplying the data voltage to the pixels.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the drawings:
Hereinafter, an implementation of this document will be described in detail with reference to
Referring to
In the display panel 10, a plurality of data line portions 14 and a plurality of gate line portions 15 intersect each other, and each of the intersections has the pixels P arranged in a matrix. Each of the data line portions 14 may comprise only a data line, or may comprise a data line and a sensing line. Each of the gate line portions 15 comprises a scan pulse supply line 15A, an emission pulse supply line 15B, and a sensing pulse supply line 15C. Each pixel P is connected to the data driving circuit 12 via the data line portions 14, and connected to the gate driving circuit 13 via the gate line portions 15. Each pixel P is commonly supplied with a high potential driving voltage Vdd, a low potential driving voltage Vss, and a reference voltage Vref. The high potential driving voltage Vdd is generated at a predetermined level by a high potential voltage source, and the low potential driving voltage is generated at a predetermined level by a low potential voltage source, and the reference voltage Vref is generated at a predetermined level by a reference voltage source. The reference voltage Vref is set to a voltage level between the low potential voltage Vss and the high potential driving voltage Vdd, preferably, a voltage level lower than the threshold voltage of the organic light emitting diode. Each pixel P comprises an organic light emitting diode, a driving TFT, and a plurality of switching TFTs. The configuration of the pixel P can be varied according to a compensation scheme. For example, the pixel P may have the configuration as shown in
The timing controller 11 generates a data control signal DDC for controlling the operation timing of the data driving circuit 12, switch control signals φ1 to φ3 for controlling switch arrays SDAR, SSAR, and SPAR in the data driving circuit 12, and a gate control signal GDC for controlling the operation timing of the gate driving circuit 13 based on timing signals such as a vertical synchronization signal Vsync, a horizontal synchronization signal Hsync, a dot clock signal DCLK, and a data enable signal DE that are input from a system board (not shown).
The timing controller 11 modulates digital video data RGB input from a system board based on compensation data Sdata stored in the memory 16. Then, the timing controller 11 supplies modulated digital data R′G′B′ to the data driving circuit 12.
The data driving circuit 12 senses the deterioration degrees of the organic light emitting diodes of the pixels P under control of the timing controller 11 during compensation driving, and supplies a sensing result, as compensation data Sdata, to the memory 16 (see
The sensing voltage supply unit 121 generates a sensing voltage for sensing the deterioration degree of the organic light emitting diode, or a first sensing voltage for sensing the deterioration degree of the organic light emitting diode and a second sensing voltage for sensing the deterioration degree of the driving TFT. Moreover, the sensing voltage supply unit 121 may generate a high potential driving voltage in some cases. The first switch array SPAR comprises a plurality of switches SP1 to SPm to be switched in response to a first switch control signal φ 1, and supplies the sensing voltages generated by the sensing voltage supply unit 121 to each data line portion 14 of the display panel 10 through the output channels CH1 to CHm.
The sampling unit 122 samples a threshold voltage value depending on the deterioration degree of the organic light emitting diode, or a threshold voltage value depending on the deterioration degree of the organic light emitting diode and a threshold voltage value depending on the deterioration degree of the driving TFT, which are fed back from each data line portion 14. The sampling unit 122 may comprise a plurality of sampling & hold blocks S/H1 to S/Hm and a multiplexer MUS for sequentially outputting input values from the sampling & hold blocks S/H1 to S/Hm. The second switch array SSAR comprises a plurality of switches SS1 to SSm to be switched in response to a second switch control signal φ 2, and supplies the threshold voltage values fed back from each data line portion 14 of the display panel 10 to the sampling unit 122 via the output channels CH1 to CHm.
The ADC 123 converts analog values input from the sampling unit 122, and then supplies them as compensation data Sdata to the memory 16. The ADC 123 may be realized in one or plural units.
During normal driving, the data driving circuit 12 converts the modulated digital data R′G′B′ into an analog data voltage (hereinafter, “data voltage”) under control of the timing controller 11 and supplies it to the data line portions 14. To this end, the data driving circuit 12 comprises a data voltage generator 124 and a third switch array SDAR.
The data voltage generator 124 comprises a plurality of output stages O/S1 to O/S operating in response to a data control signal DDC, and converts the modulated digital data R′G′B′ into a data voltage. Each of the output stages O/S1 to O/Sm may comprise a digital-analog converter DAC and an output buffer. The third switch array SDAR comprises a plurality of switches SD1 to SDm to be switched in response to a third switch control signal φ3, and supplies the data voltage from the data voltage generator 124 to each data line portion 14 of the display panel 10 via the output channels CH1 to CHm.
The gate driving circuit 13 comprises a shift register and a level shifter, and generates a scan pulse SCAN, a sensing pulse SEN, and an emission pulse EM under control of the timing controller 11. The scan pulse SCAN is applied to the scan pulse supply line 15A, the emission pulse EM is applied to the emission pulse supply line 15B, and the sensing pulse SEN is applied to the sensing pulse supply line 15C. The shift register array constituting the gate driving circuit 13 may be directly formed on the display panel 10 in a Gate In Panel (GIP) type.
The memory 16 comprises at least one lookup table, and stores compensation data Sdata input from the data driving circuit 12.
Such an organic light emitting diode display compensates for a difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes and a difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs mostly by two compensation schemes. According to the first compensation scheme, the difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs is compensated (internally compensated) for during normal driving, and the difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes is compensated (internally compensated) fro during compensation driving which is carried out separately from the normal driving. According to the second compensation scheme, both of the difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes and the difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs are compensated during the compensation driving which is carried out separately from the normal driving. Hereinafter, the first and second compensation schemes will be sequentially explained.
[First Compensation Scheme]
In a first compensation scheme according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes is compensated for during compensation driving which is carried out separately from normal driving, and a difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs is compensated for during normal driving.
Referring to
The organic light emitting diode OLED is connected between a third node N3 and a low potential voltage source VSS, and emits light by a current flowing between a high potential voltage source VDD and the low potential voltage source VSS.
The driving TFT DT is connected between the high potential voltage source VDD and the third node N3, and controls the amount of current flowing in the organic light emitting diode OLED according to a voltage between the source and gate of the driving TFT DT, i.e., a voltage applied between the high potential voltage source VDD and a first node N1.
The first switching TFT ST1 is connected between the first node N1 and the driving TFT DT, and is switched in response to a scan pulse SCAN from the scan pulse supply line 15A. The second switching TFT ST2 is connected between the data line 14 and a second node N1, and is switched in response to the scan pulse SCAN from the scan pulse supply line 15A. The third switching TFT ST3 is connected between the reference voltage source VREF and the second node N2, and is switched in response to an emission pulse EM from the emission pulse supply line 15B. The fourth switching TFT ST4 is connected between the driving TFT DT and the third node N3, and switched in response to the emission pulse EM from the emission pulse supply line 15B. The fifth switching TFT ST5 is connected between the data line 14 and the third node N3, and switched in response to a sensing pulse SEN from the sensing pulse supply line 15C.
The storage capacitor Cst is connected between the first node N1 and the second node N2.
The organic light emitting diode having such a pixel P structure operates in a compensation driving mode and in a normal driving mode. The compensation driving refers to driving for sampling the threshold voltage of the organic light emitting diode OLED in order to derive compensation data Sdata depending on the deterioration degree of the organic light emitting diode. The normal driving refers to driving for applying modulated digital data R′G′B′, to which the compensation data Sdata is reflected, while internally compensating for the deterioration degree of the driving TFT DT.
Hereinafter, a circuit operation during compensation driving and a circuit operation during normal driving under the pixel P structure will be sequentially described.
The compensation driving is sequentially performed during a first period CT1 for charging the data line 14 with a sensing voltage Vsen, a second period CT2 for floating the data line 14 and then discharging the sensing voltage Vsen on the data line 14 via the organic light emitting diode OLED, and a third period CT3 for sampling the sensing voltage Vsen remaining on the data line 14 after discharging as the threshold voltage Vth.oled of the organic light emitting diode OLED. The compensation driving can be performed all the pixels P during at least one frame to be synchronized with the on timing of a driving power, or during at least one frame to be synchronized with the off timing of the driving power. Moreover, the compensation driving can be sequentially performed for the pixels P for one horizontal line every blank period between adjacent frames.
Referring to
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The normal driving is sequentially performed for a first period DT1 for sensing a difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs DT and a second period DT2 for light emission.
Referring to
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At this point, a driving current Ioled flowing in the organic light emitting diode OLED is as shown in the following Equation 1:
where k denotes a constant determined by mobility, parasitic capacitance, and channel length, and Vsg denotes a voltage between the source and gate of the driving TFT DT.
As is easily seen from Equation 1, the driving current Ioled according to the present invention depends on the data voltage Vdata and the reference voltage Vref which can be controlled by a user, and is not affected by the level of the high potential driving voltage Vdd applied to the driving TFT DT as well as the threshold voltage Vth·DT of the driving TFT DT. This means that the difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs DT and the difference in driving voltage Vdd of the driving TFTs DT are all internally compensated for.
As shown in
Referring to
Referring to
[Second Compensation Scheme]
In a second compensation scheme according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes and a difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs are all compensated for during compensation driving which is carried out separately from normal driving
Referring to
The organic light emitting diode OLED is connected between a second node N2 and a low potential voltage source VSS, and emits light by a current flowing between a high potential voltage source VDD and the low potential voltage source VSS.
The driving TFT DT is connected between the high potential voltage source VDD and the second node N2, and controls the amount of current flowing through the organic light emitting diode OLED according to a voltage between the source and gate of the driving TFT DT, i.e., a voltage applied between the high potential voltage source VDD and a first node N1.
The first switching TFT ST1 is connected between the data line 14 and the first node N1, and is switched in response to a scan pulse SCAN from the scan pulse supply line 15A. The second switching TFT ST2 is connected between the data line 14 and the second node N2, and is switched in response to a sensing pulse SEN from the sensing pulse supply line 15C. The third switching TFT ST3 is connected between the second node N2 and the organic light emitting diode OLED, and is switched in response to an emission pulse EM from the emission pulse supply line 15B.
The storage capacitor Cst is connected between the high potential voltage source VDD and the first node N1.
The organic light emitting diode having such a pixel P structure operates in a compensation driving mode and in a normal driving mode. The compensation driving refers to driving for sampling the threshold voltage of the organic light emitting diode OLED and the threshold voltage of the driving TFT DT in order to derive compensation data Sdata depending on the deterioration degree of the organic light emitting diode and the deterioration degree of the driving TFT DT. The normal driving refers to driving for applying modulated digital data R′G′B′, to which the compensation data Sdata is reflected.
Hereinafter, a circuit operation during compensation driving and a circuit operation during normal driving under the pixel P structure will be sequentially described.
First of all, the compensation driving is sequentially performed for a first period CT1 for precharging the data line 14 and the first node N1 of the pixel P with a high potential driving voltage Vdd, a second period CT2 for charging the data line 14 with a first sensing voltage Vsen1, a third period CT3 floating the data line 14 and then discharging the first sensing voltage Vsen1 on the data line 14 via the organic light emitting diode OLED, a fourth period CT4 for sampling the first sensing voltage Vsen1 remaining on the data line 14 after discharging as the threshold voltage Vth.oled of the organic light emitting diode OLED, a fourth period CT5 for firstly charging the data line 14 with a second sensing voltage Vsen2, a sixth period CT6 for floating the data line 14 and then secondly charging the data line 14 with the threshold voltage Vth·DT of the driving TFT DT higher than the second sensing voltage Vsen2, and a seventh period CT7 for sampling the threshold voltage Vth·DT of the driving TFT DT on the data line 14. The compensation driving can be performed all the pixels P during at least one frame to be synchronized with the on timing of a driving power, or during at least one frame to be synchronized with the off timing of the driving power. Moreover, the compensation driving can be sequentially performed for the pixels P for one horizontal line every blank period between adjacent frames.
Referring to
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Next, the normal driving is sequentially performed for a first period DT1 for applying a data voltage Vdata and a second period DT2 for light emission.
Referring to
Referring to
where k denotes a constant determined by mobility, parasitic capacitance, and channel length, and Vsg denotes a voltage between the source and gate of the driving TFT DT. As stated above in detail, since both the difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes OLEDs and the difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs DT are reflected in the data voltage Vdata, the driving current Ioled according to the present invention is not dependent upon these deterioration differences.
Referring to
As described above in detail, the organic light emitting diode display and the driving method thereof according to the present invention can increase the accuracy of compensation for a difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes and greatly reduce the time required for compensation in such a manner as to externally supply a sensing voltage.
Moreover, the organic light emitting diode display and the driving method thereof according to the present invention can compensate for a difference in the deterioration of the driving TFTs, as well as a difference in the deterioration of the organic light emitting diodes.
From the above description, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should not be limited by the exemplary embodiments, but should be defined by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2009-0113979 | Nov 2009 | KR | national |