A 10.5-in.- diagonal SXGA active-matrix display by E. G. Colgan P. M. Alt R. L. Wisnieff P. M. Fryer E. A. Galligan W. S. Graham P. F. Greier R. R. Norton H. Ifill L 0. Jenkins R. A. John R. I. Kaufman Y. Kuo A. P. Lanzetta K. F. Latzko F. R. Libsch S.-C. A. Lien S. E. IVIillman R. W. Nywening R. J. Polastre C. G. Powell R. A. Rand J. J. Ritsko M. B. Rothwell J. L. Staples K. W. Warren J. S. Wilson S. L. Wright A 157-dot-per-inch, 262K-color, 10.5-in.- diagonal, 1280 x 1024 (SXGA) display has been fabricated using a six-masl( process with Cu or Al-alloy thin-film gates. The combination of high resolution and gray-scale accuracy has been shown to render color images and text with paperlike legibility. The low-resistivity gate metallization and trilayer-type TFTs with a channel length of 6-8 ju,m were fabricated with a six-mask process which is extendible to larger, higher-resolution displays. A combination of double-sided driving and active line repair was used so that open gate lines or data lines did not result in visible line defects. A flexible drive-electronics system was developed to address the display and characterize its performance under different drive conditions. Introduction To evaluate the ergonomic advantages of high-resolution active-matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs), we have constructed a 157-dot-per-inch (dpi), 262K-color, 10.5-in.- diagonal, 1280 X 1024 (SXGA) display. The advantage of such a display is that it encompasses a combination of high information content, high spatial resolution, and high gray-scale accuracy, permitting it to render color imagery with high fidelity and provide text with paperlike legibility. (The itTm paperlike is of course used subjectively to indicate that the display approaches laser print quality; this term has been used by a number of first-time observers of the display.) Laser printers typically use resolutions of 300 to 600 dots per inch (dpi) with no gray scale. The tradeoff between gray scale and resolution has been explored experimentally [1], and 13-in. SXGA displays have been fabricated with self-aligned TFTs having a channel length of 6 /^m. [2]. That work indicates that the use of gray scale can be traded off with spatial resolution. Color images in magazines are typically screened (the process of pixellating an image for printing) at a resolution of 150 dpi. The above results led us to believe that improved image and text quality could be achieved on an AMLCD with approximately 150 dpi and good gray-scale accuracy. Cathode-ray-tube-based displays provide a technology which is capable of 110-dpi color pixels with a full gray scale. For the first time, AMLCDs provide a means of obtaining higher resolution with full color on a direct-view flat-panel display. AMLCDs have been commercially produced with resolutions of 77 dpi to 106 dpi [3]. The process technology underlying AMLCD production permits even higher resolutions to be achieved. ^Copyright 1998 by International Business Macliines Corporation. Copying in printed form for private use is permitted witliout payment of royalty provided tliat (1) eacli reproduction is done without alteration and (2) tlie Journal reference and IBM copyright notice are included on the first page. The title and abstract, but no other portions, of this paper may be copied or distributed royalty free without further permission by computer-based and other information-service systems. Permission to republish any other portion of this paper must be obtained from the Editor. 0018-8646/98/$5.00 ® 1998 IBM 427 IBM J. RES. DEVELOP. VOL. 42 NO. 3/4 MAY/JULY E. G. COLGAN ET AL.