Pixel circuits and driving methods for low-cost LCD TV

We have proposed novel pixel circuits and driving methods for a-Si TFT-LCDs that can reduce the numbers of both column and row lines to half of those of traditional a-Si TFT-LCDs for a given resolution format. Whereas one pixel of a traditional TFT-LCD is driven by a row line and a column line connected to the gate and the source of the thin film transistor respectively, the proposed novel TFT-LCD allows neighboring four pixels to share a gate line and a data line, thereby reducing the numbers of both column and row lines to half. This leads to halving the numbers of the row and the column driver ICs, cutting down the cost of the driver IC to half. For the full-spec. HDTV (1920×3×1080), traditional TFT-LCDs need 12 column driver ICs with 480 outputs and 4 row drivers with 270 outputs. The proposed column-and-row-line sharing method allows the same TFT-LCD to be driven by 6 column driver ICs with 480 outputs and 2 row drivers with 270 outputs, halving the cost of the driver IC.