Driving circuit and driving method thereof, and microfluidic device

Abstract

The present application provides a driving circuit and a driving method thereof, and a microfluidic device, wherein the driving circuit includes a charging unit, a driving unit, a pre-charging unit, and a first energy storage unit. The charging unit is connected to a data line and a first scanning signal line; the driving unit is connected between a first voltage source and a driving electrode; the connection point between the pre-charging unit and the charging unit is a first node, and the connection point between the pre-charging unit and the driving unit is a second node; the first energy storage unit is connected between the first voltage source and the second node, wherein the pre-charging unit is also connected to a second scanning signal line, the second scanning signal line is a scanning signal line of a row above the current row, and the second scanning signal line is used to charge the pre-charging unit in the pre-charging stage to increase the potential of the first node in the pre-charging stage, and in the charging stage, the data line outputs a data voltage and the pre-charging unit to charge the first energy storage unit together, thereby increasing the charging rate of the first energy storage unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of driving circuits, and in particular to a driving circuit and a driving method thereof, and a microfluidic device. Background Art

[0002] A microfluidic device is a device that relies on changes in the liquid wetting effect to move droplets. It can complete state transitions such as droplet movement, fusion, and splitting in order to analyze the optical, chemical, and physical properties of different components or fused components.

[0003] In the construction of the microfluidic platform, the droplet control stage is the core component of the platform. Conventional microfluidic devices achieve fluid manipulation by designing different types of channels and micropump valve structures. This method has a complex structure and cumbersome processing, and cannot accurately and stably manipulate droplets. The failure rate of droplet manipulation is high and the manipulation efficiency is low.

[0004] In the related art, a driving circuit is provided for driving driving electrodes in a microfluidic active matrix to achieve manipulation of droplets. However, the existing driving circuit has a low charging efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides a driving circuit and a driving method thereof, and a microfluidic device. The driving circuit can solve the problem of low charging efficiency.

[0006] To solve the above problems, the first technical solution provided by the present application is: to provide a driving circuit for driving a driving electrode in a microfluidic device, comprising: a charging unit connected to a data line and a first scanning signal line, the first scanning signal line is used to control the charging unit to be turned on or off, and when the charging unit is turned on, outputs the data voltage on the data line; a driving unit connected between a first voltage source and the driving electrode; a pre-charging unit connected between the charging unit and the driving unit, and the connection point between the pre-charging unit and the charging unit is a first node, and the connection point between the pre-charging unit and the driving unit is a second node; a first energy storage unit connected between the first voltage source and the second node; wherein the pre-charging unit is also connected to a second scanning signal line, the second scanning signal line is a scanning signal line of a row above the current row, and the second scanning signal line is used to charge the pre-charging unit in a pre-charging stage to increase the potential of the first node in the pre-charging stage, and in the charging stage, the data voltage output by the data line and the pre-charging unit jointly charge the first energy storage unit, thereby increasing the charging rate of the first energy storage unit.

[0007] In one embodiment, the pre-charge unit includes: a first transistor, the control end and the first end of the first transistor are connected to the second scanning signal line, and the second end of the first transistor is connected to the first node; a second energy storage unit, connected to the first voltage source and the first node; a second transistor, the first end of the second transistor is connected to the first node, the second end of the second transistor is connected to the second node, and the control end of the second transistor is connected to a third scanning signal line; wherein the third scanning signal line is used to control the second transistor to be cut off during the charging stage, the second scanning signal line is used to control the first transistor to be turned on during the pre-charging stage, and when the first transistor is turned on, the second scanning signal line charges the second energy storage unit through the first transistor.

[0008] In one embodiment, the first scan signal line and the third scan signal line receive the same scan signal.

[0009] In one embodiment, the driving unit and the driving electrode are also connected at a third node, and the driving circuit further includes: a reset unit connected to the third node, and the reset unit is used to maintain the potential on the third node when the data line outputs a low potential state to the third node through the charging unit during the charging phase.

[0010] In one embodiment, the reset unit includes: a third transistor, the third transistor is connected between the third node and the second voltage source, the control end of the third transistor is connected to a fourth scanning signal line, and the fourth scanning signal line is used to control the third transistor to be turned on when the data line outputs a low potential for the third node, so that the second voltage source is connected to the third node through the turned-on third transistor.

[0011] In one embodiment, the reset unit includes: a third transistor, the third transistor is connected between the third node and the second voltage source; a fourth transistor and a fifth transistor, the control end and the first end of the fourth transistor, and the first end of the fifth transistor are all connected to the first voltage source; the second end of the fourth transistor and the control end of the fifth transistor are connected to a fourth node, and the second end of the fifth transistor and the control end of the third transistor are connected to a fifth node; a sixth transistor and a seventh transistor, the first end of the sixth transistor and the first end of the seventh transistor are both connected to the second voltage source, the control end of the sixth transistor and the control end of the seventh transistor are both connected to the second node, the second end of the sixth transistor is connected to the fourth node, and the second end of the seventh transistor is connected to the fifth node.

[0012] In one embodiment, the driving circuit further includes: a third energy storage unit, wherein the third energy storage unit is connected between the first voltage source and the driving electrode and is used to maintain the potential on the driving electrode in a data driving stage.

[0013] In one embodiment, the charging unit includes an eighth transistor and a ninth transistor, the first end of the eighth transistor and the first end of the ninth transistor are both connected to the data line, the control end of the eighth transistor and the control end of the ninth transistor are both connected to the first scanning signal line, the second end of the eighth transistor is connected to the first node, and the second end of the ninth transistor is connected to the driving electrode; the driving unit includes a tenth transistor, the control end of the tenth transistor is connected to the second node, the first end of the tenth transistor is connected to the first voltage source, and the second end of the tenth transistor is connected to the third node.

[0014] To solve the above problems, the second technical solution provided in the present application is: to provide a microfluidic device, comprising: a driving electrode; a driving circuit, the driving circuit comprising the driving circuit described in any one of the above items, and the driving electrode and the driving circuit are connected at the third node.

[0015] To solve the above problems, the third technical solution provided in the present application is: to provide a driving method for a driving circuit, the driving circuit includes the driving circuit described in any one of the above items, and the driving method includes: in a pre-charging stage, using the second scanning signal line to charge the pre-charging unit to increase the potential of the first node in the pre-charging stage; in a charging stage, using the data voltage output by the data line and the pre-charging unit to jointly charge the first energy storage unit, thereby increasing the charging rate of the first energy storage unit; in a data driving stage, using the first energy storage unit to maintain the potential of the second node, so that the first voltage source drives the driving electrode to work through the turned-on driving unit.

[0016] Different from the prior art, the present application provides a display panel, a driving circuit and a driving method, wherein the driving circuit includes a charging unit, a driving unit, a pre-charging unit and a first energy storage unit. The pre-charging unit is connected to the second scanning signal line, which is the scanning signal line of the previous row of the current row. The second scanning signal line is used to charge the pre-charging unit in the pre-charging stage to increase the potential of the first node (the connection point between the pre-charging unit and the charging unit) in the pre-charging stage, and in the charging stage, the data line outputs the data voltage and the pre-charging unit to charge the first energy storage unit together, thereby improving the charging efficiency of the first energy storage unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work, among which:

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit structure of a driving circuit in the related art;

[0019] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a module of a driving circuit and a driving electrode provided in the first embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a circuit structure of an embodiment of a driving circuit and a driving electrode shown;

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a module of a driving circuit and a driving electrode provided in a second embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a circuit structure of an embodiment of a driving circuit and a driving electrode shown;

[0023] Figure 6 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the circuit structure of another embodiment of the driving circuit and the driving electrode shown;

[0024] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a driving method of a driving circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 8 A timing diagram of a data line outputting a high potential during a charging phase provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Fig. 9 A timing diagram of a data line outputting a low potential during a charging phase provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a module of a micro-control flow device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Fig.11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the micro-control flow device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] Description of labels:

[0030] Driving circuit-100; charging unit-10; driving unit-20; pre-charging unit-30; reset unit-40; first energy storage unit-C1; second energy storage unit-C2; third energy storage unit-C3;

[0031] A first transistor-T1; a second transistor-T2; a third transistor-T3; a fourth transistor-T4; a fifth transistor-T5; a sixth transistor-T6; a seventh transistor-T7; an eighth transistor-T8; a ninth transistor-T9; a tenth transistor-T10;

[0032] Data line-Data; first scanning signal line-Scan1; second scanning signal line-Scan2; third scanning signal line-Scan3; fourth scanning signal line-Scan4;

[0033] First voltage source - VDD; second voltage source - VSS;

[0034] First node - n1; second node - n2; third node - n3; fourth node - n4; fifth node - n5;

[0035] Microfluidic device-300; driving electrode-200; first substrate-310; substrate-311; common electrode-312; first hydrophobic layer-313; second substrate-320; second substrate-321; driving circuit layer-322; insulating layer-324; second hydrophobic layer-325; channel-330. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0037] The terms "first", "second", "third", etc. in this application are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined as "first", "second", "third" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features.

[0038] Reference to "embodiments" herein means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of the phrase in various locations in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0039] In the related art, see Figure 1 , Figure 1Schematic diagram of the circuit structure of the driving circuit in the related art. When the driving circuit needs to input a high potential, that is, when point B needs a high voltage: the scan signal is high, T1\T2 is turned on to input the high potential of data to point A\point B respectively, and the high voltage at point A turns on T3, so that VDD charges point B at the same time. When the scan is completed, that is, scan is low, the high potential at point A is maintained by capacitor CC, so that T3 is continuously turned on, so that VDD continues to charge point B, and capacitor C pixel Maintain until the next frame begins.

[0040] When the driving circuit needs to input a low potential, that is, point B needs a low voltage: the scan signal is high, T1\T2 is turned on to pull down point A\point B, and the low voltage at point A cuts off T3, and point B is maintained at a low potential until the next frame starts.

[0041] However, although Figure 1 The driving circuit shown can meet the basic control requirements of the micro-flow device, but Figure 1 The solution of the driving circuit shown has the following disadvantages:

[0042] At high potential, the charging efficiency is low: In order to maintain the voltage at point A, the capacitor CC cannot be too small. If CC is too small, the voltage at point A drops rapidly due to leakage of T1, and T3 cannot complete the continuous charging to point B within the frame; however, a larger CC will directly lead to insufficient charging efficiency at point A, resulting in poor opening state of T3.

[0043] Frequency limitation: The above-mentioned problems bring certain challenges to the selection of CC capacitors, and after selection, it can only adapt to the current frequency; if it switches to high refresh, the high potential cannot be reached in a single frame, and if it switches to low refresh, the high potential of point A cannot be maintained within a single frame.

[0044] Low potential drift: When the target potential is low, the potential at point B will continue to rise due to the leakage of T3 within the frame, resulting in a low potential drift problem.

[0045] To solve the above problems, see Figure 2 and Figure 3 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a module of a driving circuit and a driving electrode provided in the first embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 for Figure 2 The circuit structure diagram of one embodiment of the driving circuit and the driving electrode is shown.

[0046] The present application embodiment provides a driving circuit 100, which is used to drive a microfluidic device 300 (see Fig.10 ) is driven by the driving electrode 200, specifically, the driving circuit 100 includes a charging unit 10, a driving unit 20, a pre-charging unit 30 and a first energy storage unit C1.

[0047] The charging unit 10 is connected to the data line Data and the first scanning signal line Scan1, the data line Data is used to output the data voltage, and the first scanning signal line Scan1 is used to control the charging unit 10 to be turned on or off, and when the charging unit 10 is turned on, the data voltage on the data line Data is output. In one embodiment, the first scanning signal line Scan1 controls the charging unit 10 to be turned on during the charging stage.

[0048] The driving unit 20 is connected between the first voltage source VDD and the driving electrode 200. The driving unit 20 is used to generate a corresponding driving current in the data driving stage to control the driving electrode 200 to work.

[0049] The pre-charging unit 30 is connected between the charging unit 10 and the driving unit 20 , and the connection point between the pre-charging unit 30 and the charging unit 10 is a first node n1 , and the connection point between the pre-charging unit 30 and the driving unit 20 is a second node n2 .

[0050] The first energy storage unit C1 is connected between the first voltage source VDD and the second node n2 . The first energy storage unit C1 is used to store electric energy in the charging phase and maintain the potential of the second node n2 in the data driving phase, thereby maintaining the state of the driving unit 20 .

[0051] In order to improve the charging efficiency of the first energy storage unit C1, in the present embodiment, the pre-charge unit 30 is also connected to the second scanning signal line Scan2, and the second scanning signal line Scan2 is the scanning signal line of the previous row of the current row. The second scanning signal line Scan2 is used to charge the pre-charge unit 30 in the pre-charging stage before the charging stage to increase the potential of the first node n1 in the pre-charging stage, and in the charging stage, the data voltage output by the data line Data and the pre-charge unit 30 jointly charge the first energy storage unit C1, thereby improving the charging efficiency of the first energy storage unit C1, and the improvement of the charging efficiency can remove the frequency restriction of the driving unit 20 and achieve high refresh.

[0052] In addition, since the pre-charge unit 30 has the voltage maintenance capability for the first node n1 in this frame, in the data driving stage, the voltage difference between the first node n1 and the second node n2 is small, and the leakage of the second node n2 through the pre-charge unit 30 is small, so that the potential of the second node n2 has excellent potential maintenance capability.

[0053] In the embodiment of the present application, the pre-charging unit 30 includes a first transistor T1, a second transistor T2 and a second energy storage unit C2.

[0054] Specifically, the control end and the first end of the first transistor T1 are connected to the second scan signal line Scan2, and the second end of the first transistor T1 is connected to the first node n1; the second energy storage unit C2 is connected to the first voltage source VDD and the first node n1; the first end of the second transistor T2 is connected to the first node n1, the second end of the second transistor T2 is connected to the second node n2, and the control end of the second transistor T2 is connected to the third scan signal line Scan3; wherein the third scan signal line Scan3 is used to control the second transistor T2 to be cut off in the pre-charging stage, the second scan signal line Scan2 is used to control the first transistor T1 to be turned on in the pre-charging stage, and when the first transistor T1 is in the turned-on state, the second scan signal line Scan2 charges the second energy storage unit C2 through the first transistor T1 to increase the potential of the first node n1 in the pre-charging stage.

[0055] Specifically, the second transistor T2 separates the first node n1 and the second node n2, and the second scan signal line Scan2 is connected to the first node n1 through the first transistor T1, so that the first scan signal line Scan1 can unidirectionally charge the second energy storage unit C2 in the pre-charging stage, thereby increasing the potential of the first node n1, thereby improving the driving ability of this frame. And the second energy storage unit C2 stores the pre-charged charge, when the charging unit 10 is turned on by the control unit of the first scan signal line Scan1 in the charging stage of this frame, and the second transistor T2 is turned on by the control of the third scan signal line Scan3 in the charging stage, the data voltage on the data line Data and the second energy storage unit C2 can quickly charge the first energy storage unit C1, thereby improving the charging efficiency of the first energy storage unit C1, so that the potential of the second node n2 can be quickly pulled up, thereby improving the charging efficiency of the connection point (third node n3) between the driving unit 20 and the driving electrode 200 in the data driving stage, so that the single frame can reach the target potential under high refresh (for example, 300Hz) and low refresh (for example, 60Hz).

[0056] The second transistor T2 separates the first node n1 from the second node n2, which can prevent the high potential of the first node n1 from turning on the driving unit 20 during the pre-charging phase, thereby preventing misshooting. Especially when the current frame requires a low potential, misshooting is fatal.

[0057] In addition, since the second energy storage unit C2 has the voltage maintenance capability for the first node n1 in this frame, in the data driving stage, the voltage difference between the first node n1 and the second node n2 is small, and the leakage of the second node n2 through the second transistor T2 is small, so that the potential of the second node n2 has excellent potential maintenance capability.

[0058] In the embodiment of the present application, the first scanning signal line Scan1 and the third scanning signal line Scan3 receive the same scanning signal (see Figure 5 or Figure 6 Specifically, the first scanning signal line Scan1 and the third scanning signal line Scan3 receiving the same scanning signal can reduce the number of channels required for the chip IC, which is beneficial to reducing costs.

[0059] Please continue to see Figure 3 In an embodiment of the present application, the driving circuit 100 also includes a third energy storage unit C3, which is connected between the first voltage source VDD and the driving electrode 200, and the connection point between the third energy storage unit C3, the driving unit 20 and the driving electrode 200 is a third node n3. The third energy storage unit C3 is used to maintain the potential on the driving electrode 200 during the data driving stage.

[0060] See also Figure 4-Figure 6 , Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a module of a driving circuit and a driving electrode provided in a second embodiment of the present application; Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a circuit structure of an embodiment of a driving circuit and a driving electrode shown; Figure 6 for Figure 4 A circuit structure schematic diagram of another embodiment of a driving circuit and a driving electrode is shown.

[0061] In the embodiment of the present application, the driving circuit 100 also includes a reset unit 40, which is connected to the third node n3. The reset unit 40 is used to maintain the potential on the third node n3 when the data line Data outputs a low potential state during the charging phase, thereby ensuring that the third node n3 is absolutely pulled down when the potential is low, thereby solving the drift problem of the low potential of the third node n3.

[0062] See also Figure 5 In a specific embodiment, the reset unit 40 includes a third transistor T3, which is connected between the third node n3 and the second voltage source VSS. The control end of the third transistor T3 is connected to the fourth scan signal line Scan4. The fourth scan signal line Scan4 is used to control the third transistor T3 to be turned on when the charging unit 10 outputs a low potential to the third node n3, so that the second voltage source VSS is connected to the third node n3 through the turned-on third transistor T3.

[0063] Among them, the second voltage source VSS can be a low-potential voltage source. Specifically, when the data line Data outputs a low-potential state, the fourth scan signal line Scan4 controls the third transistor T3 to be non-conductive, and the third node n3 maintains a high potential; when the data line Data outputs a low-potential state, the fourth scan signal line Scan4 controls the third transistor T3 to be conductive, and the third transistor T3 is used to output the low-potential voltage on the second voltage source VSS to the third node n3 in the conductive state, so as to solve the drift problem of the low potential of the third node n3.

[0064] See also Figure 6 In another specific embodiment, the reset unit 40 includes a third transistor T3, a fourth transistor T4, a fifth transistor T5, a sixth transistor T6 and a seventh transistor T7.

[0065] Among them, the third transistor T3 is connected between the third node n3 and the second voltage source VSS; the control end and the first end of the fourth transistor T4, and the first end of the fifth transistor T5 are all connected to the first voltage source VDD; the second end of the fourth transistor T4 and the control end of the fifth transistor T5 are connected to the fourth node n4, and the second end of the fifth transistor T5 and the control end of the third transistor T3 are connected to the fifth node n5; the first end of the sixth transistor T6 and the first end of the seventh transistor T7 are both connected to the second voltage source VSS, the control end of the sixth transistor T6 and the control end of the seventh transistor T7 are both connected to the second node n2, the second end of the sixth transistor T6 is connected to the fourth node n4, and the second end of the seventh transistor T7 is connected to the fifth node n5.

[0066] Specifically, in this embodiment, when the data line Data outputs a high potential state, the second node n2 is a high potential, and the sixth transistor T6 and the seventh transistor T7 are controlled to be turned on, and the low potential voltage on the second voltage source VSS is output to the fourth node n4 and the fifth node n5, so that the third transistor T3 is not turned on, and the third node n3 maintains a high potential; when the data line Data outputs a low potential state, the second node n2 is a low potential, and the sixth transistor T6 and the seventh transistor T7 are controlled not to be turned on, and the high potential on the first voltage source VDD controls the fourth transistor T4 to be turned on, and then the fifth transistor T5 is controlled to be turned on through the turned-on fourth transistor T4, and the high potential on the first voltage source VDD is written to the fifth node n5, so that the third transistor T3 is turned on, and the third transistor T3 outputs the low potential voltage on the second voltage source VSS to the third node n3, thereby solving the drift problem of the low potential of the third node n3.

[0067] In one embodiment, the charging unit 10 includes an eighth transistor T8 and a ninth transistor T9, the first end of the eighth transistor T8 and the first end of the ninth transistor T9 are both connected to the data line Data, the control end of the eighth transistor T8 and the control end of the ninth transistor T9 are both connected to the first scan signal line Scan1, the second end of the eighth transistor T8 is connected to the first node n1, and the second end of the ninth transistor T9 is connected to the driving electrode 200. Specifically, in the charging stage and when the data line Data outputs a high potential state, the eighth transistor T8 and the ninth transistor T9 are turned on to write the data voltage on the data line Data into the first energy storage unit C1 and the third node n3. In the charging stage and when the data line Data outputs a low potential state, the eighth transistor T8 and the ninth transistor T9 are turned on, and the data voltage on the data line Data is written into the third node n3 through the turned-on ninth transistor T9.

[0068] In one embodiment, the driving unit 20 includes a tenth transistor T10, a control end of the tenth transistor T10 is connected to the second node n2, a first end of the tenth transistor T10 is connected to the first voltage source VDD, and a second end of the tenth transistor T10 is connected to the third node n3. Specifically, the tenth transistor T10 is used to be turned on in the data driving stage, and output a corresponding driving current to the third node n3 to control the driving electrode 200 to work.

[0069] Specifically, in the driving circuit 100 provided in the embodiment of the present application, the pre-charge unit 30 is also connected to the second scanning signal line Scan2, and the second scanning signal line Scan2 is the scanning signal line of the previous row of the current row. The second scanning signal line Scan2 is used to charge the pre-charge unit 30 in the pre-charge stage before the charging stage to increase the potential of the first node n1 in the pre-charge stage, and in the charging stage, the data voltage output by the data line Data and the pre-charge unit 30 jointly charge the first energy storage unit C1, thereby improving the charging efficiency of the first energy storage unit C1, and the improvement of the charging efficiency can remove the frequency restriction of the driving unit 20 and achieve high refresh. And because the pre-charge unit 30 has the voltage maintenance capability for the first node n1 in this frame, in the data driving stage, the voltage difference between the first node n1 and the second node n2 is small, and the leakage of the second node n2 through the pre-charge unit 30 is small, so that the potential of the second node n2 has excellent potential maintenance capability. In addition, the reset unit 40 is used to maintain the potential on the third node n3 when the data line Data outputs a low potential in the charging phase, ensuring that the third node n3 is absolutely pulled down when the potential is low, thereby solving the drift problem of the low potential of the third node n3.

[0070] See also Figure 7 , Figure 7 A schematic flow chart of a driving method for a driving circuit provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0071] Specifically, an embodiment of the present application further provides a driving method of a driving circuit 100, wherein the driving circuit 100 includes the driving circuit 100 provided by any of the above embodiments. Specifically, the driving method includes:

[0072] Step S1: In the pre-charging stage, the pre-charging unit 30 is charged by the second scanning signal line Scan2 to increase the potential of the first node n1 in the pre-charging stage.

[0073] Step S2: In the charging stage, the data voltage outputted by the data line Data and the pre-charging unit 30 are used to charge the first energy storage unit C1 , thereby improving the charging efficiency of the first energy storage unit C1 .

[0074] Step S3 : in the data driving stage, the first energy storage unit C1 is used to maintain the potential of the second node n2 , so that the first voltage source VDD drives the driving electrode 200 to work through the turned-on driving unit 20 .

[0075] Specifically, in one embodiment, see Figure 8 , Figure 8 The timing diagram of the data line outputting a high potential in the charging stage provided in the embodiment of the present application is analyzed starting with the second scanning signal line Scan2 outputting a high potential. When the current row is charged with a high potential and the previous frame is a low potential, the control timing and output state are as follows: Figure 8 As shown:

[0076] In the pre-charging stage, the second scanning signal line Scan2 outputs a high potential to turn on the first transistor T1 and charge the first node n1, which is stored in the second energy storage unit C2. After the second scanning signal line Scan2 stops outputting a high potential, the first transistor T1 is reversely cut off, and the first node n1 is pre-charged to a high potential.

[0077] In the charging stage, the first scan signal line Scan1 outputs a high potential, the second transistor T2, the eighth transistor T8, the ninth transistor T9 and the tenth transistor T10 are turned on, the third node n3 is directly charged with the data voltage high potential by the ninth transistor T9, the second node n2 is charged with the data voltage high potential through the eighth transistor T8 and the second transistor T2, and because the first node n1 is pre-charged in advance in the pre-charging stage, the second node n2 has a faster charging speed, and the tenth transistor T10 is turned on, so that the third node n3 is charged with the high potential of the first voltage source VDD, so far the first node n1, the second node n2 and the third node n3 are all high potentials until the first scan signal line Scan1 ends outputting a high potential.

[0078] In the data driving stage, after the first scan signal line Scan1 outputs a low potential, the second transistor T2, the eighth transistor T8 and the ninth transistor T9 are turned off, and the first energy storage unit C1, the second energy storage unit C2 and the third energy storage unit C3 maintain the high potential of the first node n1, the second node n2 and the third node n3, and because the source and drain of the second transistor T2 are both at a high potential, the second node n2 has a good maintenance capability, and the tenth transistor T10 is continuously turned on, so that in the current frame, the third node n3 is continuously charged by the first voltage source VDD. In addition, even if the leakage of the first node n1 is the largest, when it is reflected to the second node n2 and then to the third node n3, the impact is already very small.

[0079] And in the data driving stage, since the second node n2 in the current frame continues to be at a high potential, the sixth transistor T6 and the seventh transistor T7 are turned on, the fourth node n4 and the fifth node n5 are at a low potential, the third transistor T3 is turned off and is in a cut-off state, and the third node n3 continues to be at a high potential.

[0080] In another embodiment, Fig. 9 The timing diagram of the data line outputting a low potential in the charging stage provided by the embodiment of the present application is analyzed starting with the second scanning signal line Scan2 outputting a high potential. When the current row is charged with a low potential and the previous frame is a low potential, the control timing and output state are as follows: Fig. 9 As shown:

[0081] In the pre-charging stage, the second scanning signal line Scan2 outputs a high potential to turn on the first transistor T1 and charge the first node n1, which is stored in the second energy storage unit C2. After the second scanning signal line Scan2 stops outputting a high potential, the first transistor T1 is reversely cut off, and the first node n1 is pre-charged to a high potential.

[0082] In the charging stage, the first scan signal line Scan1 outputs a high potential, the second transistor T2, the eighth transistor T8 and the ninth transistor T9 are turned on, the third node n3 is directly charged with the data voltage low potential by the ninth transistor T9, and the high point of the first node n1 pre-charged in the pre-charging stage is pulled down by the data voltage low potential through the eighth transistor T8, and the second node n2 is pulled down by the second transistor T2 and the eighth transistor T8 regardless of the state in the previous frame, and the tenth transistor T10 is turned off.

[0083] In the data driving stage, when the first scan signal line Scan1 outputs a low potential, the second transistor T2, the eighth transistor T8 and the ninth transistor T9 are turned off, and the first energy storage unit C1, the second energy storage unit C2 and the third energy storage unit C3 maintain the low potentials of the first node n1, the second node n2 and the third node n3.

[0084] And in the data driving stage, since the second node n2 in the current frame continues to be at a low potential, the sixth transistor T6 and the seventh transistor T7 are turned off, the fourth node n4 and the fifth node n5 are at a high potential, and the third transistor T3 is turned on. The third transistor T3 outputs the low potential voltage on the second voltage source VSS to the third node n3, so that the third node n3 will not drift upward due to the leakage of the tenth transistor T10, thereby solving the drift problem of the low potential of the third node n3.

[0085] See also Fig.10 , Fig.10 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a microfluidic device provided in the present application.

[0086] The embodiment of the present application further provides a microfluidic device 300. The microfluidic device 300 includes a driving electrode 200 and a driving circuit 100, wherein the driving circuit 100 includes the driving circuit 100 of any of the above embodiments, and the driving electrode 200 and the driving circuit 100 are connected at a third node n3.

[0087] Specifically, the driving circuit 100 in the microfluidic device 300 of the present application has a high charging efficiency, which can significantly improve the driving ability of the driving electrode 200, and accurately and stably control the droplets through the driving electrode 200. The operation is simple, the failure rate of droplet manipulation is reduced, and the manipulation accuracy is improved.

[0088] See also Fig.11 , Fig.11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a microfluidic device provided in an embodiment of the present application. In one embodiment, the microfluidic device 300 includes a first substrate 310 and a second substrate 320 that are arranged opposite to each other, and a channel 330 for accommodating one or more droplets is formed between the first substrate 310 and the second substrate 320.

[0089] The first substrate 310 includes a first substrate 311 , a common electrode 312 , and a first hydrophobic layer 313 which are sequentially stacked toward the second substrate 320 .

[0090] The second substrate 320 includes a second substrate 321, a driving circuit layer 322, a driving electrode 200, an insulating layer 324, and a second hydrophobic layer 325 which are sequentially stacked toward the first substrate 310. The insulating layer 324 covers the driving electrode 200. The driving circuit layer 322 includes a plurality of driving circuits 100 arranged in an array, and the driving electrodes 200 are arranged corresponding to the driving circuits 100.

[0091] The channel 330 is located between the first hydrophobic layer 313 and the second hydrophobic layer 325 .

[0092] Specifically, the microfluidic device 300 controls the droplets to enter the channel 330 and drives the driving electrode 200 to achieve the generation, transfer, mixing and splitting of the droplets, and to perform precise and stable control of the droplets.

[0093] The above are only implementation methods of the present application, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the present application specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A driving circuit for driving a driving electrode in a microfluidic device, It is characterized in that include: A charging unit connected to the data line and a first scanning signal line, wherein the first scanning signal line is used to control the charging unit to be turned on or off, and when the charging unit is turned on, outputs a data voltage on the data line; A driving unit connected between a first voltage source and the driving electrode; a pre-charging unit connected between the charging unit and the driving unit, wherein a connection point between the pre-charging unit and the charging unit is a first node, and a connection point between the pre-charging unit and the driving unit is a second node; A first energy storage unit, connected between the first voltage source and the second node; The pre-charge unit is further connected to a second scan signal line, the second scan signal line is a scan signal line of a row above the current row, and the second scan signal line is used to charge the pre-charge unit in a pre-charge stage to increase the potential of the first node in the pre-charge stage, and in a charging stage, the data voltage output by the data line and the pre-charge unit jointly charge the first energy storage unit, thereby increasing the charging rate of the first energy storage unit; Wherein, the pre-charging unit comprises: a first transistor, wherein a control terminal and a first terminal of the first transistor are connected to the second scanning signal line, and a second terminal of the first transistor is connected to the first node; a second energy storage unit, connected to the first voltage source and the first node; a second transistor, wherein a first end of the second transistor is connected to the first node, a second end of the second transistor is connected to the second node, and a control end of the second transistor is connected to a third scan signal line; Among them, the third scan signal line is used to control the second transistor to be turned off in the charging stage, the second scan signal line is used to control the first transistor to be turned on in the pre-charging stage, and when the first transistor is turned on, the second scan signal line charges the second energy storage unit through the first transistor.

2. The driving circuit according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The first scanning signal line and the third scanning signal line receive the same scanning signal.

3. The driving circuit according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The driving unit and the driving electrode are further connected at a third node, and the driving circuit further includes: A reset unit is connected to the third node, and is used for maintaining the potential on the third node when the data line outputs a low potential to the third node through the charging unit during the charging phase.

4. The driving circuit according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The reset unit comprises: A third transistor, the third transistor is connected between the third node and the second voltage source, the control end of the third transistor is connected to a fourth scanning signal line, and the fourth scanning signal line is used to control the third transistor to be turned on when the data line outputs a low potential for the third node, so that the second voltage source is connected to the third node through the turned-on third transistor.

5. The driving circuit according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The reset unit comprises: a third transistor connected between the third node and a second voltage source; a fourth transistor and a fifth transistor, wherein the control terminal and the first terminal of the fourth transistor and the first terminal of the fifth transistor are all connected to the first voltage source; the second terminal of the fourth transistor and the control terminal of the fifth transistor are connected at a fourth node, and the second terminal of the fifth transistor and the control terminal of the third transistor are connected at a fifth node; A sixth transistor and a seventh transistor, the first end of the sixth transistor and the first end of the seventh transistor are both connected to the second voltage source, the control end of the sixth transistor and the control end of the seventh transistor are both connected to the second node, the second end of the sixth transistor is connected to the fourth node, and the second end of the seventh transistor is connected to the fifth node.

6. The driving circuit according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The driving circuit further includes: A third energy storage unit is connected between the first voltage source and the driving electrode, and is used to maintain the potential on the driving electrode in a data driving stage.

7. The driving circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, It is characterized in that The charging unit comprises an eighth transistor and a ninth transistor, a first end of the eighth transistor and a first end of the ninth transistor are both connected to the data line, a control end of the eighth transistor and a control end of the ninth transistor are both connected to the first scanning signal line, a second end of the eighth transistor is connected to the first node, and a second end of the ninth transistor is connected to the driving electrode; The driving unit includes a tenth transistor, a control terminal of the tenth transistor is connected to the second node, a first terminal of the tenth transistor is connected to the first voltage source, and a second terminal of the tenth transistor is connected to the third node.

8. A microfluidic device, It is characterized in that include: driving electrodes; A driving circuit, wherein the driving circuit comprises the driving circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and the driving electrode is connected to the driving circuit at a third node.

9. A driving method for a driving circuit, It is characterized in that The driving circuit comprises the driving circuit described in any one of claims 1 to 7, and the driving method comprises: In a pre-charging stage, the pre-charging unit is charged by the second scanning signal line to increase the potential of the first node in the pre-charging stage; In the charging stage, the data voltage output by the data line and the pre-charging unit are used to charge the first energy storage unit, thereby increasing the charging rate of the first energy storage unit; In the data driving stage, the first energy storage unit is used to maintain the potential of the second node, so that the first voltage source drives the driving electrode to work through the turned-on driving unit.

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