Large area sensors with amorphous silicon

The field of large-area electronics (LAE) based on amorphous silicon is in rapid evolution. Besides solar cells and flat active-matrix displays, increasing applications for document scanners exist in the fields of computer peripherals and in telecommunications. The author deals with application-relevant properties of amorphous silicon and its deposition technique, describes the electronic thin-film components used in large-area sensors, and outlines current concepts of hybrid and integrated scanning devices. LAE document readers are currently produced in a linear pixel arrangement. With increasing yield potential, mainly stimulated by the manufacture of active matrix LED displays, the two-dimensional area sensor is becoming technically and economically feasible.<
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