Liquid crystal cells – elements and systems – Liquid crystal optical element – Liquid crystal sensors
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-29
2002-10-08
Sikes, William L. (Department: 2871)
Liquid crystal cells, elements and systems
Liquid crystal optical element
Liquid crystal sensors
C257S059000, C257S072000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06462806
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device having an image sensor function and a display function, and particularly to an electronic equipment, such as an active matrix panel with a display portion made of a pixel portion including a plurality of pixel electrodes disposed in matrix, a portable terminal unit with such a display portion, or a personal computer with such a display portion, and also to a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a technique of a TFT using polycrystal silicon called a polysilicon TFT has been diligently investigated. As a result, it becomes possible to manufacture a driving circuit, such as a shift register, with polysilicon TFTs, and further, an active matrix type liquid crystal panel in which a pixel portion and a peripheral driving circuit for driving the pixel portion are integrated on the same substrate, has been put to practical use. Thus, the cost of the liquid crystal panel is lowered, the size thereof is reduced, the weight thereof is decreased, and the liquid crystal panel is used as a display portion of various information equipments or portable equipments, such as a personal computer, a portable telephone, a video camera, and a digital camera.
Recently, a pocket-sized small portable information processing terminal unit, which is superior in portability to a note-sized personal computer and is inexpensive, has been put to practical use, and an active matrix type liquid crystal panel is used for its display portion. In such an information processing terminal,- although data can be inputted from the display portion by a touch-pen system, it is necessary to connect the terminal with a peripheral device for reading an image, such as a scanner or a digital camera, in order to input character/drawing information on a paper or picture information. For this reason, the. portability of the information processing terminal is hindered. Also, an economical load for purchasing a peripheral device is imposed on a user.
An active matrix type display device is used also for a display portion of a TV meeting system, a TV telephone, a terminal for the internet, and the like. Although such a system or terminal is provided with a camera (CCD camera) for photographing an image of a dialogist or a user, a display portion and a reading portion (sensor portion) are separately manufactured and are modularized. Thus, the manufacturing cost becomes high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing problems, and to provide a display device using a novel semiconductor device which includes a pixel matrix, an image sensor, and a peripheral circuit for driving those, that is, includes both a camera function and a display function and is made intelligent.
Another object of the present invention is to inexpensively manufacture a display device using a novel semiconductor device which is made intelligent by causing an image sensor to coordinate with a pixel matrix and a peripheral driving circuit in the structure and manufacturing process.
In order to achieve the above objects, in the present invention, such a structure is adopted that a semiconductor device for display and a semiconductor device for light reception are disposed on the same substrate. A liquid crystal display portion including a pixel electrode and a semiconductor device for display, and a sensor portion including a semiconductor device for light reception are not separately disposed, but a novel device structure which includes the semiconductor device for display and the semiconductor device for light reception in one pixel, that is, as shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, a structure which includes semiconductor devices (insulated gate field effect semiconductor device) for carrying out control of both display and light reception in one pixel, is adopted, so that a display device with a picture reading function is made small and compact.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, an integral-type liquid crystal display panel with an image sensor function comprises a display portion made of a pixel matrix including at least pixel electrodes in matrix and a first semiconductor device connected to each of the pixel electrodes, and a sensor portion including at least a photoelectric conversion element and a second semiconductor device connected to the photoelectric conversion element, wherein the sensor portion is disposed on the same substrate as the display portion, and light from a back surface of the -substrate is received by the sensor portion.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an integral-type liquid crystal display panel with an image sensor function comprises a display portion made of a pixel matrix including at least pixel electrodes in matrix and a first semiconductor device connected to each of the pixel electrodes, and a sensor portion including at least a photoelectric conversion element and a second semiconductor device connected to the photoelectric conversion element, wherein the sensor portion is disposed on the same substrate as the display portion, the display portion and the sensor portion have the same pixel size, and light from a back surface of the substrate is received by the sensor portion.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, an integral-type liquid crystal display panel with an image sensor function comprises a display portion made of a pixel matrix including at least pixel electrodes in matrix and a first semiconductor device connected to each of the pixel electrodes, and a sensor portion including a photoelectric conversion element and a second semiconductor device connected to the photoelectric conversion element, wherein the sensor portion is disposed on the same substrate as the display portion, the first semiconductor device and the second semiconductor device are disposed in the same matrix, and the pixel electrode connected to the first semiconductor device exists over the second semiconductor device.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an integral-type liquid crystal display panel with an image sensor function comprises a display portion made of a pixel matrix including at least pixel electrodes in matrix and a first semiconductor device connected to each of the pixel electrodes, and a sensor portion including a photoelectric conversion element and a second semiconductor device connected to the photoelectric conversion element, wherein the sensor portion is disposed on the same substrate as the display portion; the photoelectric conversion element includes at least an upper electrode, a photoelectric conversion layer, and a lower electrode, the upper electrode is made of a metal having reflectivity to at least visible light, and the lower electrode is made of a transparent conductive film.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing an integral-type liquid crystal display panel with an image sensor function which comprises a pixel matrix including pixel electrodes disposed in matrix and a first semiconductor device connected to each of the pixel electrodes, and an image sensor with a light receiving portion including a photoelectric conversion element and a second semiconductor device connected to the photoelectric conversion element, which are disposed on the same substrate as the pixel matrix, the method comprising: a first step of forming the first semiconductor device and the second semiconductor device on the substrate; a second step of forming a lower electrode connected to the second semiconductor device and made of a transparent conductive film; a third step of forming a photoelectric conversion layer on the lower electrode; and a fourth step of forming an upper electrode contacting on the photoelectric conversion layer.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing an integral-type liquid crystal display panel with an image sensor function which comprises a pixel matrix including pixel electrodes d
Kuwabara Hideaki
Sakakura Masayuki
Zhang Hongyong
Chowdhury Tarifur R.
Robinson Eric J.
Robinson Intellectual Property Law Office PC
Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co,. Ltd.
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