Recent advances and future directions in a-Si:H TFT/LCD technology

The dramatic growth of portable computing over the past few years has been the driving force behind research and development in the area of amorphous silicon thin film transistor array technology. The focus has been on improving yield, lowering manufacturing costs, and increasing aperture ratio to improve battery life. More recently, however, we have seen a renewed effort aimed at increasing the size and resolution of LCDs, with a view to replacing CRTs for some applications. These applications push the limit of a-Si:H TFT array technology and present some very different challenges. The author reviews the progress made in both these arenas and highlights some of the key areas of focus for future R&D.