Method for driving display device

Abstract

To display a low-resolution image at higher resolution and furthermore to reduce an afterimage.SOLUTION: Resolution is made higher by super-resolution processing. In this case, the super-resolution processing is performed after frame interpolation processing is performed. Further in that case, the super-resolution processing can be performed using a plurality of processing systems. Therefore, super-resolution processing can be performed at high speed even when frame frequency is made higher. An afterimage can be reduced since frame rate doubling is performed by frame interpolation processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a display device, a liquid crystal display device, a semiconductor device, a method for producing the same, or In particular, the present invention relates to a method for driving a display device, a liquid crystal display device, a semiconductor device, etc. The present invention relates to a method for processing signals in a digital camera or a digital multimedia camera. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays have become widespread. And the various performances of flat panels are improving more and more. One of the specifications of a camera is its resolution (or number of pixels), and resolution has also improved significantly.

[0003] Therefore, super-resolution processing technology, which is a technology for converting low-resolution images into high-resolution images, is used. are being investigated (Patent Documents 1 to 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-160565 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2008-085411 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2008-252701 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] On the other hand, various technologies are being considered to improve the image quality of LCD displays. Therefore, in flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays, image quality needs to be improved. When processing to improve image quality, various problems can occur. The image quality may decrease, the image may not be displayed correctly, or power consumption may increase. This can lead to noise, unnecessary parts, etc. However, the cost is high, the size of the device is large, and the frame of the display device is large. It may become slow, processing may become slow, display may become slow, or frame may become This may result in a lower beat frequency.

[0006] In view of the above, one aspect of the present invention is a device with improved image quality, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a display that displays a correct image. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof. One aspect of the present invention is to provide a device with low power consumption, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof. Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a device with low noise, a driving method thereof, or a method for driving the device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a device having a small number of parts. It is an object of the present invention to provide a driving method thereof or a manufacturing method thereof. An object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost device, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof. Another embodiment of the present invention is a miniaturized device, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a device having a small frame and a driving method thereof. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for operating the semiconductor device, or a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device. The objective is to provide a device with high processing speed, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof. One aspect of the present invention provides a device with high speed display, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof. Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a device with a high frame frequency and a driving method thereof. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for operating the semiconductor device, or a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device. The object is to provide a device with less residual images, a driving method thereof, or a manufacturing method thereof. One aspect of the invention is to provide a high contrast device, a method for driving the same, or a method for manufacturing the same. The description of these issues does not preclude the existence of other issues. Note that one embodiment of the present invention does not necessarily solve all of these problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] After interpolating the frame data to display it at a higher frame frequency, the image is then processed with super-resolution. Using techniques, a low-resolution image is converted into a high-resolution image. Then, image enhancement such as edge enhancement is performed. Local brightness control using image processing and backlight (LOCAL DIMMING) MMING) and overdrive data processing. .

[0008] Alternatively, the frame data can be interpolated to display at a higher frame rate while still providing ultra-high quality images. Using resolution processing technology, the low-resolution image is converted into a high-resolution image. Then, the edge is enhanced. Image processing such as the above, and frame data interpolation for displaying at a higher frame frequency Then, local brightness control using the backlight (local dimming) was performed. IMMING) and overdrive data processing. cormorant.

[0009] Therefore, a first step of frame interpolation processing and a second step of super-resolution processing are performed. and the second step is carried out after the first step. A method for driving a liquid crystal display is provided.

[0010] Alternatively, a first step of performing frame interpolation processing and a second step of performing super-resolution processing. and the first step and the second step have a period during which they are performed simultaneously. The present invention provides a method for driving a liquid crystal display device.

[0011] Alternatively, a first step of performing frame interpolation processing and a second step of performing a first super-resolution processing are performed. and a third step of performing a second super-resolution process, and after the first step, A liquid crystal display device characterized in that the second step or the third step is carried out. A method for operating the device is provided.

[0012] Alternatively, a first step of performing frame interpolation processing and a second step of performing super-resolution processing. and a third step of performing a local dimming process, wherein after the first step, The second step is performed, and after the second step, the third step is performed. The present invention provides a method for driving a liquid crystal display device, comprising the steps of:

[0013] Alternatively, a first step of performing frame interpolation processing and a second step of performing super-resolution processing. The third step performs local dimming processing, and the fourth step performs overdrive processing. and a step of: After the step, the third step is performed, and after the third step, the fourth step is performed. The present invention provides a method for driving a liquid crystal display device, characterized in that the steps of:

[0014] The switch may be of various types. For example, an electrical switch may be used. In other words, anything that can control the flow of electric current is acceptable. For example, a transistor (e.g., a bipolar transistor) may be used as a switch. transistors, MOS transistors, etc.), diodes (e.g. PN diodes, PIN diodes, Schottky diodes, MIM (Metal Insulator Metal diode, MIS (Metal Insulator Semiconductor) conductor diodes, diode-connected transistors, etc. Alternatively, a logic circuit that combines these can be used as a switch.

[0015] An example of a mechanical switch is a digital micromirror device (DMD). There are switches that use MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technology. The switch has an electrode that can be moved mechanically, and the movement of the electrode causes Thus, the device operates by controlling conduction and non-conduction.

[0016] When a transistor is used as a switch, the transistor acts simply as a switch. However, the polarity (conductivity type) of the transistor is not particularly limited. To suppress the off-state current, it is desirable to use a transistor with a smaller off-state current. Transistors with low leakage current include transistors with LDD regions and multi-gate There are transistors that operate as switches. The voltage of the source terminal operates at a value close to the voltage of the low-potential power supply (Vss, GND, 0V, etc.) In this case, it is preferable to use an N-channel transistor. If the potential of the transistor is close to the potential of the high-potential power supply (such as Vdd), a P-channel transistor is used. It is preferable to use an N-channel transistor because the source terminal is When operating at a potential close to the low-potential power supply, the source terminal of a P-channel transistor When the transistor is operated close to the potential of the high-potential power supply, the absolute value of the voltage between the gate and source is increased. This is because the switch can operate more accurately because it can detect the force of the current. In addition, the transistor rarely operates as a source follower, so the output voltage is large. This is because there is little risk of the size becoming smaller.

[0017] In addition, both N-channel and P-channel transistors are used to realize a CMO An S-type switch may be used as the switch. If a CMOS type switch is used, the P channel Either an N-channel transistor or an N-channel transistor is used. If a current flows through the material, it will function as a switch. Whether the voltage of the input signal is high or low, the voltage can be appropriately output. Furthermore, the voltage amplitude of the signal for turning the switch on or off can be reduced. Therefore, power consumption can be reduced.

[0018] When using a transistor as a switch, the switch is connected to the input terminal (source terminal or drain terminal), and an output terminal (the other of the source terminal or drain terminal); The gate terminal controls the conduction of the transistor. In this case, the switch may not have a terminal for controlling the conduction. Using diodes as switches rather than transistors reduces the wiring required to control the terminals. It is possible to reduce it.

[0019] When it is explicitly stated that A and B are connected, it means that A and B are electrically connected. A and B are connected functionally, A and B are directly connected, Here, A and B are objects (e.g., devices, elements, circuits, etc.). Therefore, a given connection relationship is For example, the present invention is not limited to the connection relationships shown in the drawings or text, and may be modified in any manner without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. This also includes things other than relationships.

[0020] For example, if A and B are electrically connected, the following can be considered: The elements that function as One or more diodes (e.g., anode, diode, etc.) may be connected between A and B. Alternatively, When A and B are functionally connected, a circuit (e.g. For example, logic circuits (inverters, NAND circuits, NOR circuits, etc.), signal conversion circuits (DA conversion circuits, AD conversion circuits, gamma correction circuits, etc.), potential level conversion circuits (power supply circuits (boosting circuits , step-down circuits, level shifter circuits that change the potential level of signals, voltage sources, current sources , switching circuits, amplification circuits (circuits that can increase the signal amplitude or current, etc., operational amplifiers , differential amplifier circuits, source follower circuits, buffer circuits, etc.), signal generation circuits, memory circuits, One or more control circuits may be connected between A and B. For example, If the signal output from A is transmitted to B, even if there is another circuit between them, then A and B are considered to be are considered to be functionally connected.

[0021] In addition, when it is explicitly stated that A and B are electrically connected, it means that A and B are electrically When A and B are electrically connected (i.e., when another element or circuit is placed between A and B), A and B are functionally connected (i.e., there is no connection between A and B) and B is functionally connected (i.e., there is no connection between A and B). When A and B are connected directly ( In other words, A and B are connected without any other element or circuit between them. In other words, when it is explicitly stated that something is electrically connected, it should simply be " is the same as if it were expressly stated only that the

[0022] In addition, a display element, a display device which is a device having a display element, a light-emitting element, The light-emitting device can have a variety of configurations and elements. For example, the display element, display device, light-emitting element, or light-emitting device may be an EL (electroluminescent EL elements (EL elements containing organic and inorganic materials, organic EL elements, inorganic EL elements), LE D (white LED, red LED, green LED, blue LED, etc.), transistor (current-dependent transistors that emit light when exposed to light, electron emitters, liquid crystal elements, electronic ink, electrophoretic elements, graphene Rating light valve (GLV), plasma display panel (PDP), digital Micromirror Device (DMD), Piezoelectric ceramic display, Carbon nanotube The contrast, brightness, reflectance, transmittance, etc. change due to electromagnetic effects. The display device using the EL element may have a display medium. As a display device using electron emission elements, a field emission display ( FED) and SED type flat panel displays (SED: Surface-conductive Displays using liquid crystal elements, such as LCDs The device is a liquid crystal display (transmissive liquid crystal display, semi-transmissive liquid crystal display, Reflective LCD, Direct-view LCD, Projection LCD), Electronic Ink An example of a display device using ink or electrophoretic elements is electronic paper.

[0023] The EL element has an anode, a cathode, and an EL layer sandwiched between the anode and the cathode. The EL layer is made up of a material that utilizes light emission (fluorescence) from singlet excitons, Those that utilize emission from triplet excitons (phosphorescence) and those that utilize emission from singlet excitons (fluorescence). Some of them use light emitted from triplet excitons (phosphorescence), while others use organic materials. those formed by inorganic matter, those formed by organic matter, Materials formed by inorganic substances, including polymeric materials, low molecular weight materials, polymeric materials However, the present invention is not limited to the above. There can be various types of EL element.

[0024] An electron-emitting device is a device that extracts electrons by concentrating a high electric field on a cathode. For example, As electron emitters, Spindt type, carbon nanotube (CNT) type, metal-insulator - Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) type, in which metal is laminated; metal-insulator MIS (Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor) ctor type, MOS type, silicon type, thin film diode type, diamond type, metal-insulated Body - Semiconductor-metal thin film type, HEED type, EL type, porous silicon type, surface conduction ( However, the electron emission element may have a type such as a SCE type. It can have a variety of things.

[0025] The liquid crystal element is a device that controls the transmission or non-transmission of light by the optical modulation action of liquid crystal. It is an element that consists of a pair of electrodes and liquid crystal. The optical modulation action of liquid crystal is as follows: Controlled by the electric field applied to the liquid crystal (including the horizontal electric field, vertical electric field, or diagonal electric field) The liquid crystal element is a nematic liquid crystal, a cholesteric liquid crystal, a smectic liquid crystal, Liquid crystal, discotic liquid crystal, thermotropic liquid crystal, lyotropic liquid crystal, low molecular weight liquid crystal , polymer liquid crystal, polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), ferroelectric liquid crystal, antiferroelectric liquid crystal, main chain liquid crystal Side-chain polymer liquid crystals, plasma-addressed liquid crystals (PALC), banana-shaped liquid crystals, etc. The liquid crystal driving method is Twisted Nematic (TN). mode, STN (Super Twisted Nematic) mode, IPS (In -Plane-Switching mode, FFS (Fringe Field Switching) mode itching) mode, MVA (Multi-domain Vertical Alignment ignment) mode, PVA (Patterned Vertical Alignment) mode, ment) mode, ASV (Advanced Super View) mode, ASM (Axially Symmetric aligned Micro-cell) mode OCB(Optically Compensated Birefringenc) e) mode, ECB (Electrically Controlled Birefring ingence) mode, FLC (Ferroelectric Liquid Cry stal) mode, AFLC(AntiFerroelectric Liquid C Crystal mode, PDLC (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal mode, guest host mode, Blue Phase mode However, the present invention is not limited to this, and liquid crystal elements and their driving methods can be used. A variety of materials can be used as the

[0026] In addition, electronic paper is displayed by molecules (optical anisotropy, dye molecule orientation, etc.). (electrophoresis, particle migration, particle rotation, phase change, etc.), Those that are displayed by the movement of one end of the film, and those that are displayed by coloring / phase changes of molecules. Some are displayed by molecular light absorption, while others are displayed by spontaneous light emission caused by the combination of electrons and holes. For example, the display method for electronic paper is microcapsule Horizontally moving electrophoresis, Vertically moving electrophoresis, Spherical twist ball, Magnetic twist twist ball, cylindrical twist ball method, charged toner, electronic liquid powder, magnetic migration type, magnetic thermal formula, electrowetting, light scattering (transparent / opaque), cholesteric liquid crystal / light guide Layer, Cholesteric Liquid Crystal, Bistable Nematic Liquid Crystal, Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal, Dichroic Dye and Liquid Crystal Dispersion type, movable film, color development and erasure by leuco dye, photochromic, electrochromic It is possible to use a flexible organic light emitting diode (OLED), electrochemical deposition, or other methods. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various types of electronic paper and its display method can be used. Here, by using microcapsule electrophoresis, the shortcomings of the electrophoretic method can be eliminated. This solves the problem of aggregation and precipitation of electrophoretic particles, which is a major issue. It has advantages such as low reflectivity, wide viewing angle, low power consumption, and memory properties.

[0027] A plasma display panel is made up of a substrate on which electrodes are formed, and electrodes and minute A substrate having grooves on its surface and a phosphor layer formed in the grooves is placed opposite the substrate at a narrow distance, and a rare gas is introduced into the substrate. Alternatively, the plasma display panel has a structure in which a plasma tube is filled with It is also possible to sandwich the plasma tube between film-like electrodes from above and below. A tube is a glass tube that contains discharge gas, RGB phosphors, etc. By applying a voltage between the electrodes, ultraviolet light is generated, causing the phosphor to glow. The display can be achieved by using the DC type plasma display panel. The plasma display panel may be a DP or AC type PDP. , AWS (Address While Sustain) drive, reset the subframe ADS (Address Display Time) is a time-domain time-domain (ADS) that is divided into a period, an address period, and a sustain period. Separated) drive, CLEAR (HI-CONTRAST & LOW ENERGY Y ADDRESS&REDUCTION OF FALSE CONTOUR SEQ UENCE) drive, ALIS (Alternate Lighting of Surf aces) method, TERES (Technology of Reciprocal S However, this is not limited to this, and plasma Various methods for driving the display panel can be used.

[0028] In addition, display devices that require a light source, such as liquid crystal displays (transmissive liquid crystal displays) Semi-transmissive LCD, reflective LCD, direct-view LCD, projection type liquid crystal display (LCD), display device using grating light valve (GLV), As a light source for a display device using a digital micromirror device (DMD), Uses thermoluminescence, cold cathode tubes, hot cathode tubes, LEDs, laser light sources, mercury lamps, etc. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various light sources can be used as the light source. Cut.

[0029] Note that various types of transistors can be used. There is no limitation on the type of transistor to be used. For example, amorphous silicon, polycrystalline silicon, Microcrystalline (also called microcrystalline, nanocrystalline, or semi-amorphous) silicon The use of thin film transistors (TFTs) having non-single crystal semiconductor films, such as There are various advantages to using TFTs. For example, in the case of single crystal silicon Since it can be manufactured at a lower temperature than conventional methods, it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs or increase the size of manufacturing equipment. Since the manufacturing equipment can be made larger, it is possible to manufacture on large substrates. Since a large number of display devices can be manufactured, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Therefore, a substrate with low heat resistance can be used. A display element can be manufactured using a transistor on a light-transmitting substrate. It is possible to control the light transmission through the transistor. A part of the film that composes the transistor can transmit light, which improves the aperture ratio. It can be done.

[0030] In addition, by using a catalyst (such as nickel) when producing polycrystalline silicon, It is possible to further improve the crystallinity and manufacture transistors with good electrical characteristics. As a result, the gate driver circuit (scanning line driver circuit) and the source driver circuit (signal line driver circuit ), signal processing circuits (signal generation circuit, gamma correction circuit, DA conversion circuit, etc.) are integrated on the board. It is possible to form.

[0031] In addition, when producing microcrystalline silicon, by using a catalyst (such as nickel), It is possible to further improve the crystallinity and manufacture transistors with good electrical characteristics. In this case, the crystallinity can be improved by simply applying heat treatment without laser irradiation. As a result, part of the source driver circuit (analog switches, etc.) and the gate The gate driver circuit (scanning line driver circuit) can be formed integrally on the substrate. If laser irradiation is not performed for crystallization, unevenness in the crystallinity of silicon can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to display images with improved quality.

[0032] However, polycrystalline silicon and microcrystalline silicon can be produced without using a catalyst (such as nickel). It is possible.

[0033] In addition, improving the crystallinity of silicon to polycrystalline or microcrystalline can improve the overall panel quality. It is preferable to perform the process on the whole body, but it is not limited to this. The crystallinity of the silicon may be improved. The crystallinity can be improved by selectively irradiating the silicon with laser light. For example, the peripheral circuit area, which is an area other than the pixels, can be selectively irradiated. Alternatively, the gate driver circuit, the source driver circuit, and the like may be irradiated with laser light only in the region. Alternatively, the laser light may be irradiated only to the area of ​​the source driver circuit. Alternatively, the laser light may be irradiated only to the area of ​​the semiconductor device (e.g., an analog switch). It is possible to improve the crystallization of silicon only in areas where high-speed circuit operation is required. Since there is little need for high-speed operation in the pixel area, the crystallinity is not required to be improved. The pixel circuit can be operated without any problems. The area for improving the crystallinity is small. This allows the manufacturing process to be shortened, improving throughput and reducing manufacturing costs. The number of manufacturing devices required is small, which reduces manufacturing costs. It is possible to do so.

[0034] Alternatively, a transistor can be formed using a semiconductor substrate, an SOI substrate, or the like. These features result in less variation in characteristics, size, and shape, higher current supply capacity, and These transistors allow the manufacture of transistors with low noise. This makes it possible to reduce the power consumption of the circuit or to increase the degree of integration of the circuit.

[0035] Or ZnO, a-InGaZnO, SiGe, GaAs, Indium Zinc Oxide ( IZO), indium tin oxide (ITO), SnO, TiO, AlZnSnO(AZTO ) or oxide semiconductors, and further, A thin-film transistor made of a compound semiconductor or an oxide semiconductor can be used. These features allow the manufacturing temperature to be lowered, making it possible to manufacture transistors at room temperature, for example. As a result, it is possible to directly apply the heat to substrates with low heat resistance, such as plastic substrates and film substrates. A transistor can be formed using these compound semiconductors or oxide semiconductors. It can be used not only for the channel part of a transistor, but also for other purposes. For example, these compound semiconductors or oxide semiconductors can be used as resistor elements, pixel electrodes, transparent Furthermore, they can be formed simultaneously with the transistor or can be formed, thereby reducing costs.

[0036] Alternatively, transistors formed by inkjet or printing methods can be used. These allow fabrication at room temperature, in a low vacuum, or on large substrates. Since it is possible to manufacture the transistors without using a mask (reticle), The layout can be easily changed. Furthermore, since there is no need to use a resist, This reduces the cost of materials and the number of processes. Furthermore, since the film is applied only to the necessary parts, This method is less wasteful and less costly than the method of etching after forming a film on the entire surface. can be done.

[0037] Alternatively, transistors having organic semiconductors or carbon nanotubes can be used. This makes it possible to form transistors on a flexible substrate. A semiconductor device using such a substrate can be made resistant to shocks.

[0038] Furthermore, transistors of various structures can be used. For example, MOS transistors Transistors such as junction transistors and bipolar transistors can be used as transistors. By using MOS transistors, the size of the transistors can be reduced. Therefore, a large number of transistors can be mounted. By using transistors, it is possible to pass a large current. Therefore, it is possible to perform high-speed circuit testing. It can be made to work.

[0039] In addition, MOS transistors, bipolar transistors, etc. can be mixed on one substrate. This can realize low power consumption, small size, high speed operation, etc. do.

[0040] In addition, various other transistors can be used.

[0041] Note that the transistor can be formed using various substrates. The substrate is not limited to a specific one. For example, the substrate may be a single crystal substrate (e.g., silicon substrate), SOI substrate, glass substrate, quartz substrate, plastic substrate, metal substrate, stainless less steel substrate, substrate with stainless steel foil, tungsten substrate, tungsten A substrate having a stainless steel foil, a flexible substrate, etc. can be used. Examples include barium borosilicate glass, aluminoborosilicate glass, etc. Examples of the substrate include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate. Plastics such as polyethersulfone (PEN) and polyethersulfone (PES), or acrylics Other examples include laminated films (polypropylene, etc.) Polyethylene, polyester, vinyl, polyvinyl fluoride, polyvinyl chloride, etc.), including fibrous materials Paper, base film (polyester, polyamide, polyimide, inorganic deposition film, paper Or, a transistor is formed using one substrate, and then transferred to another substrate. The transistors may be transposed and placed on a different substrate. The substrates that can be placed on the device include single crystal substrates, SOI substrates, glass substrates, quartz substrates, and plastic substrates. Substrate, paper substrate, cellophane substrate, stone substrate, wood substrate, fabric substrate (natural fibers (silk, cotton, hemp) , synthetic fibers (nylon, polyurethane, polyester) or regenerated fibers (acetate, Cupra, rayon, recycled polyester, etc.), leather substrate, rubber substrate, stainless steel A substrate made of stainless steel, a substrate made of stainless steel foil, etc. can be used. Alternatively, the skin (epidermis, dermis) or subcutaneous tissue of an animal, such as a human, may be used as the substrate. Alternatively, a substrate may be used to form the transistors, and the substrate may be polished to make it thinner. The substrates to be polished include single crystal substrates, SOI substrates, glass substrates, quartz substrates, plastic substrates, etc. The substrates used are stainless steel substrates, stainless steel foil substrates, etc. By using these substrates, it is possible to form transistors with good characteristics and to Formation of low-power transistors, manufacture of durable devices, imparting heat resistance, weight reduction, It is possible to achieve a thinner design.

[0042] The structure of the transistor can take various forms and is not limited to a specific structure. For example, a multi-gate structure having two or more gate electrodes can be applied. When the gate structure is used, the channel regions are connected in series, so multiple transistors are connected in series. The multi-gate structure reduces the off-state current and improves the transistor durability. Alternatively, the multi-gate structure can improve saturation voltage (improve reliability). When operating in the MOSFET region, the drain-source current remains constant even if the drain-source voltage is changed. The voltage-current characteristic does not change much, and the slope of the voltage-current characteristic can be made flat. By taking advantage of the flat slope of As a result, it is possible to realize an active load with good characteristics, such as a differential circuit or a current mirror. The circuit can be realized.

[0043] As another example, a structure in which gate electrodes are arranged above and below the channel can be applied. By arranging the gate electrodes above and below the channel, The current value can be increased by increasing the current density. By using a structure in which the MOSFETs are arranged, it becomes easier for a depletion layer to form, and this leads to an improvement in the S value. In addition, by arranging gate electrodes above and below the channel, , a configuration in which a plurality of transistors are connected in parallel.

[0044] A structure in which a gate electrode is disposed above a channel region, and a structure in which a gate electrode is disposed below a channel region The structure in which the channel region is divided into multiple regions is called the normal staggered structure. a structure in which the channel regions are connected in parallel, or a structure in which the channel regions are connected in series In addition, a source electrode and a drain electrode are provided in the channel region (or a part of it). A structure in which the source electrode and drain electrode overlap is also applicable. By using an overlapping structure for the drain electrodes, charges accumulate in part of the channel region. It is possible to prevent the operation from becoming unstable. By providing an LDD region, it is possible to reduce the off-current or to increase the withstand voltage of the transistor. By providing the LDD region, When operating in the saturation region, the drain-source voltage remains constant even if the drain-source voltage changes. The current does not change much and the slope of the voltage-current diagram can be made flat.

[0045] Note that various types of transistors can be used and can be formed using various substrates. Therefore, all the circuits required to realize a given function can be implemented simultaneously. For example, the circuit required to realize a specific function may be formed on a single substrate. All of the circuits are mounted on various substrates such as glass, plastic, single crystal, or SOI. It is also possible to form the circuit using a substrate that is not suitable for the purpose of realizing a desired function. All components are formed using the same substrate, reducing the number of components and lowering costs. Alternatively, the reliability can be improved by reducing the number of connection points with the circuit components. A part of the circuitry required to realize a certain function is formed on a certain substrate, and the specified function is Other parts of the circuitry required for implementation may be formed on other substrates. In other words, all the circuits required to realize a given function are formed using the same substrate. For example, some of the circuits required to realize a certain function may be mounted on the glass. A separate circuit formed by transistors on a substrate, necessary to realize a specific function. Some of them are formed on single crystal substrates and consist of transistors formed using single crystal substrates. The IC chip is then connected to the glass substrate using COG (Chip On Glass) technology. It is also possible to place the IC chip on the substrate. Alternatively, the IC chip can be mounted on a TA B (Tape Automated Bonding) or printed circuit boards are used to bond glass substrates. In this way, part of the circuit is formed on the same substrate. This reduces the number of components, resulting in lower costs, and reduces the number of connections to circuit components. It is possible to improve reliability. Alternatively, it is possible to improve reliability in areas where the driving voltage is high and where the driving frequency is high. Since the power consumption of the circuits in the parts is large, the circuits in those parts are placed on the same board. Instead, for example, a circuit for that part is formed on a single crystal substrate, and By using an IC chip having such a configuration, it is possible to prevent an increase in power consumption.

[0046] A pixel is the smallest unit of an image. Therefore, it is divided into R (red), G (green), and B (blue). In the case of a full-color display device consisting of color elements of R and G, one pixel is a dot of the color element R and G. The color elements are composed of dots of the color elements A and B. The color elements are The colors are not limited to three, and more than three colors may be used, or colors other than RGB may be used. For example, You can add white to make it RGBW (W is white). Or, you can add yellow to RGB. You may add one or more colors such as blue, cyan, magenta, emerald green, or vermilion. For example, a color similar to at least one color in RGB may be added to RGB. For example, R, G, B1, B2 may be used. B1 and B2 are both blue, but slightly different. The wavelengths are different. Similarly, R1, R2, G, and B may be used. By using such color elements, it is possible to display the image more realistically. By using this method, power consumption can be reduced. There may be multiple dots. In that case, each of the multiple color elements contributes to the display. The size of the area may be different. Or, there may be multiple dots of the same color element. By controlling each of these, gradation can be expressed. This is called area gradation method. Alternatively, multiple dots of the same color may be used, and the signal supplied to each dot may be The viewing angle may be increased by slightly differentiating the two. The pixel electrodes of the same color elements may have different potentials. The voltage applied to the crystal molecules varies depending on the pixel electrode. This makes it possible to widen the viewing angle. Yes, it is possible.

[0047] In addition, when showing a circuit diagram, one pixel represents one element that can control brightness. In that case, one pixel is regarded as one color element. The brightness is expressed by one color element. Therefore, R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are used. In the case of a color display device consisting of color elements of R and G, the smallest unit of an image is an R pixel and a G pixel. In some cases, it may be composed of three pixels: a pixel of A and a pixel of B.

[0048] In some cases, pixels are arranged (distributed) in a matrix. The term "arranged in a trix" means that the pixels are arranged in a straight line in the vertical or horizontal direction. This includes cases where the elements are arranged side by side, or in a jagged line. For example, when performing full color display using three color elements (e.g., RGB), a stripe arrangement is used. This also includes cases where the dots of the three color elements are arranged in a delta arrangement. This also includes the case where the dots are arranged in a Bayer pattern. This can reduce power consumption or extend the life of the display element. can be done.

[0049] In addition, the active matrix type has active elements in the pixels, or A passive matrix method without the use of a filter can be used.

[0050] In the active matrix method, a transistor is used as an active element (active element, nonlinear element). By using not only transistors but also various active elements (active elements, nonlinear elements), For example, MIM (Metal Insulator Metal) and TFD (Thin Film Diode) and the like can also be used. These elements are Since the manufacturing process is few, it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs and improve yields. Furthermore, because the size of the element is small, the aperture ratio can be improved, resulting in low power consumption and high brightness. It is possible to improve the quality of the product.

[0051] In addition to the active matrix type, there are also active elements (active elements, non-linear It is also possible to use a passive matrix type that does not use active elements. Since it does not use any active elements or nonlinear elements, there are fewer manufacturing steps, which reduces manufacturing costs and It is possible to improve the accuracy. No active elements (non-linear elements) are used. Therefore, the aperture ratio can be improved, and low power consumption and high brightness can be achieved.

[0052] A transistor is defined as a semiconductor device having at least three terminals including a gate, a drain, and a source. A channel region is provided between the drain region and the source region. A current can be passed through the drain region, the channel region, and the source region. The source and drain depend on the transistor structure and operating conditions, so it is unclear which is the source and which is the drain. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether the source or drain is the same. In some cases, the region that functions as a source or drain is not called a source or drain. In some cases, they are referred to as the first terminal and the second terminal. They may be referred to as the first electrode and the second electrode. Or, they may be referred to as the first region and the second region. There is a match.

[0053] A transistor has at least three terminals including a base, an emitter, and a collector. In this case, the emitter and the collector are connected to the first terminal and the second terminal. It may be written as 2 terminals, etc.

[0054] Semiconductor devices include semiconductor elements (transistors, diodes, thyristors, etc.). It also refers to devices that have circuits that can function by utilizing the characteristics of semiconductors. The term "semiconductor device" may generally refer to any device that has semiconductor material. He says.

[0055] Note that the display device refers to a device having a display element. The display device may include a plurality of pixels including a plurality of pixels each including a peripheral circuit. The peripheral driving circuit for driving the plurality of pixels may include a plurality of The display device may be formed on the same substrate as the pixel. Peripheral driving circuits arranged on the substrate by, for example, chip-on-glass (COG) It may include IC chips connected by a wire or IC chips connected by a TAB or the like. The display device may include IC chips, resistor elements, capacitor elements, inductors, transistors, etc. The circuit board may include a flexible printed circuit (FPC) to which a The display device is connected via a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or other device, and the IC chip A printed circuit board on which chips, resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, etc. are mounted. The display device may include a polarizing plate or a retardation plate. The display device may include an illumination device, a housing, an audio input / output device, an optical sheet, etc. It may also include an optical sensor.

[0056] The lighting device includes a backlight unit, a light guide plate, a prism sheet, a diffusion sheet, a reflector, and a It has a reflecting sheet, light source (LED, cold cathode fluorescent lamp, etc.), cooling device (water-cooled, air-cooled), etc. That's fine.

[0057] The light-emitting device refers to a device having a light-emitting element or the like. When the light emitting device has a light element, the light emitting device is a specific example of a display device.

[0058] The reflecting device is a device having a light reflecting element, a light diffractive element, a light reflecting electrode, etc. It is said.

[0059] Note that the liquid crystal display device refers to a display device having a liquid crystal element. There are direct-view, projection, transmissive, reflective, and semi-transmissive types.

[0060] In addition, a driving device refers to a device that has semiconductor elements, electric circuits, and electronic circuits. For example, a transistor that controls the input of a signal from a source signal line to a pixel (selection transistor) (sometimes called a transistor for switching, etc.) and supplies a voltage or current to the pixel electrode. The transistors that supply a voltage or current to the light-emitting element are Furthermore, a circuit for supplying a signal to the gate signal line (a gate driver, A circuit that supplies signals to the source signal lines (sometimes called a source line driver circuit, etc.) A pixel driver (sometimes called a pixel driver or a source line driver circuit) is an example of a driver device.

[0061] In addition, the present invention is applicable to display devices, semiconductor devices, lighting devices, cooling devices, light-emitting devices, reflecting devices, driving devices, etc. For example, a display device may include a semiconductor device and a light emitting device. Alternatively, the semiconductor device may include a display device and a driving device. This may be the case.

[0062] Note that it is not explicitly stated that B is formed on A, or that B is formed on A. In the case of the above, it is not limited to B being formed directly on A. This also includes cases where A and B are not in a state where the object is located between them, that is, where there is another object between A and B. Here, A and B are objects (e.g., devices, elements, circuits, wiring, electrodes, terminals, conductive films, layers , etc.).

[0063] Therefore, for example, it is not possible to explicitly state that layer B is formed on top of layer A (or on top of layer A). In the cases listed, layer B is formed directly on layer A, and layer A is formed on layer B. Another layer (such as layer C or layer D) is formed directly on top of it, and layer B is formed directly on top of it. In addition, other layers (such as layers C and D) may be formed as follows: It may be a single layer or a multi-layer.

[0064] Furthermore, the same applies to cases where it is explicitly stated that B is formed above A. It is not limited to B being directly on A, and there is no other object between A and B. This also includes cases where a layer is interposed between layers. For example, if a layer B is formed above a layer A, In this case, layer B is formed directly on layer A, and layer B is formed directly on layer A. Another layer (such as layer C or layer D) is formed on top of it, and layer B is formed directly on top of it. In addition, other layers (such as layers C and D) may be used as single layers. It may be a multi-layer structure.

[0065] In addition, B is formed on A, B is formed on A, or B is formed above A. When explicitly stating that B is formed, this also includes the case where B is formed diagonally above. .

[0066] The same applies to the case where B is below A, or B is below A.

[0067] In addition, where something is explicitly stated as singular, it is preferable that it be singular. However, it is not limited to this and plurals are also possible. It is preferable that the items described in the above are plural. However, this is not limited to this. It is also possible for the term to be singular.

[0068] In the drawings, the size, layer thickness, or area may be exaggerated for clarity. Therefore, it is not necessarily limited to that scale.

[0069] Note that the diagram is a schematic representation of an ideal example, and is not limited to the shapes or values ​​shown in the diagram. For example, there are variations in shape due to manufacturing techniques, variations in shape due to errors, and noise. Variations in signals, voltages, or currents due to timing differences, or variations in signals, voltages, Or, it is possible to include current variation.

[0070] In addition, technical terms may be used for the purpose of describing a specific embodiment or example. However, one aspect of the present invention is not limited to the technical terms. .

[0071] In addition, undefined terms (including scientific and technical terms such as technical terms or academic terms) are generally It is possible to use the term as meaning equivalent to the general meaning understood by a person skilled in the art. Any words defined herein shall be construed in a manner consistent with the background of the relevant art. is preferred.

[0072] In addition, the terms first, second, third, etc., refer to various elements, members, regions, layers, or sections from one another. Therefore, the words first, second, third, etc. are used to distinguish between elements, parts, etc. It does not limit the number of materials, regions, layers, areas, etc. Further, for example, "first" can be replaced with "second" or "third", etc. It is possible to replace it with "second" or "third", etc.

[0073] In addition, terms indicating spatial arrangements such as "above", "upward", "below", "downward", "sideways", "right", "left", "diagonal", "back", "front", "inside", "outside", or "in" are often used to easily show the relationship between one element or feature and another element or feature by means of a diagram. However, it is not limited to this, and the terms indicating these spatial arrangements can include other directions in addition to the directions depicted in the diagram. For example, when explicitly shown as B above A, it is not limited to B being above A. Since the device in the diagram can be inverted or rotated 180°, it is possible to include B being below A. In this way, the term "above" can include the direction of "below" in addition to the direction of "above". However, it is not limited to this. Since the device in the diagram can be rotated in various directions, the term "above" can include other directions such as "sideways", "right", "left", "diagonal", "back", "front", "inside", "outside", or "in" in addition to the directions of "above" and "below". That is, it can be interpreted appropriately according to the situation. Since the device in the diagram can be inverted or rotated 180°, it is possible to include B being below A. In this way, the term "above" can include the direction of "below" in addition to the direction of "above". However, it is not limited to this. Since the device in the diagram can be rotated in various directions, the term "above" can include other directions such as "sideways", "right", "left", "diagonal", "back", "front", "inside", "outside", or "in" in addition to the directions of "above" and "below". That is, it can be interpreted appropriately according to the situation. Since the device in the diagram can be rotated in various directions, the term "above" can include other directions such as "sideways", "right", "left", "diagonal", "back", "front", "inside", "outside", or "in" in addition to the directions of "above" and "below". That is, it can be interpreted appropriately according to the situation. That is, it can be interpreted appropriately according to the situation.

Advantages of the Invention

[0074] It becomes possible to improve the image quality.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0075] [Figure 1] (A) to (C) Diagrams for explaining an example of the flow according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] ​​5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating a display screen according to an example of an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1A to 1D are diagrams illustrating a flow according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a flow according to an example of an embodiment. [Diagram 5] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a flow according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 6] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a circuit according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 7] 1A to 1E are diagrams illustrating a flow according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 8] 1A to 1E are diagrams illustrating a flow according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 9] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a flow according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 10] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a flow according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 11] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a flow according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 12] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a flow according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 13] 1A and 1B are a top view and a cross-sectional view illustrating a device according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 14] 1A and 1C are top views, and 1B and 1D are cross-sectional views illustrating a device according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 15] 1A, 1C, and 1E are diagrams for explaining voltages of a display element according to an example of an embodiment, and 1B, 1D, and 1F are diagrams for explaining transmittances of the display element according to the example of an embodiment. [Figure 16] 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating a display screen according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 17] 1A to 1G are diagrams illustrating a circuit according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 18] 1A to 1H are diagrams illustrating a circuit according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 19] 1A and 1B illustrate a structure of a display device according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 20] 1A to 1E are diagrams illustrating a structure of a display device according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 21] 1A to 1C are cross-sectional views illustrating a structure of a transistor according to an example of an embodiment. [Figure 22] 1A to 1H are diagrams illustrating electronic devices according to an example of an embodiment. [Diagram 23] 1A to 1H are diagrams illustrating electronic devices according to an example of an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0076] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention can be implemented in any manner without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the embodiments. The contents of the description should not be construed as being limited to the above. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to denote parts or parts having similar functions, and the same parts or parts having similar functions are denoted by the same reference numerals in different drawings. Detailed description of parts having similar functions will be omitted.

[0077] In addition, the contents (or even a part of the contents) described in one embodiment may be used in the embodiment. Another content (or a part of the content) described in the embodiment, and / or one or more other embodiments The content (or part of the content) described in the form of It is possible to do the following:

[0078] The contents described in the embodiments are explained in detail with reference to various figures in each embodiment. This refers to the content that is stated or stated using the text in the specification.

[0079] Note that the figure (which may be only a part) described in a certain embodiment can be combined with another part of that figure, another figure (which may be only a part) described in that embodiment, and / or one or more figures (which may be only a part) described in one or more other embodiments to form even more figures.

[0080] Note that in the figure or text described in a certain embodiment, it is possible to extract a part thereof to form an aspect of the invention. Therefore, when a figure or text describing a certain part is provided, the content obtained by extracting a part of that figure or text is also disclosed as an aspect of the invention and can form an aspect of the invention. Thus, for example, active elements (such as transistors and diodes), wirings, passive elements (such as capacitive elements and resistive elements), conductive layers, insulating layers, semiconductor layers, organic materials, inorganic materials, components, substrates, modules, devices, solids, liquids, gases, operation methods, manufacturing methods, etc., when described singly or in plural in drawings (such as cross-sectional views, plan views, circuit diagrams, block diagrams, flowcharts, process diagrams, perspective views , elevation views, layout diagrams, timing charts, structure diagrams, schematic diagrams, graphs, tables, optical path diagrams, vector diagrams, state diagrams, waveform diagrams, photographs, chemical formulas, etc.) or text, it is possible to extract a part thereof to form an aspect of the invention. As an example, from a circuit diagram composed of N (N is an integer) circuit elements (such as transistors and capacitive elements), it is possible to extract M (M is an integer and M < N) circuit elements (such as transistors and capacitive elements) to form an aspect of the invention. As another example, from a cross-sectional view composed of N (N is an integer) layers, it is possible to extract M (M is an integer and M < N) layers to form an aspect of the invention This is possible. As another example, from a flowchart composed of N (N is an integer) elements, it is possible to extract M (M is an integer, M < N) elements and constitute one aspect of the invention.

[0081] (Embodiment 1) Super-resolution processing refers to a process of generating a high-resolution image based on a low-resolution image. Alternatively, super-resolution processing refers to a process of restoring lost information during shooting or signal transfer. Therefore, due to the low resolution, fine parts are crushed and averaged in the image. By performing super-resolution processing on the averaged image, an image can be generated that can accurately recognize even fine parts. Therefore, when such a high-resolution image is displayed, a high-quality image can be displayed. For example, in an image of a park with many small stones arranged, or a tree with many fine leaves arranged, each small stone and each fine leaf can be accurately identified by performing super-resolution processing. Similarly, blurred characters that could not be read can be made legible by performing super-resolution processing because fine parts can be recognized. That is, it becomes possible to see as if the vision has improved. For example, super-resolution processing restores image information from an image with a resolution (number of pixels) of 1440 × 1080 to create an image with a resolution (number of pixels) of 1920 × 1080. That is, it is possible to say that the super-resolution processing technology performs resolution conversion while increasing the amount of information in the image from the original image. Alternatively, super-resolution processing refers to, among the information contained in the image, the standard of the input image. ​​​​​​​This is a technology that restores frequency components higher than the Nyquist frequency determined by the original frequency. It is also possible to say that.

[0082] On the other hand, hold-type displays such as LCDs are not suitable for displaying fast-moving images. When using a video with a caption, the video may become blurred and you may see an afterimage. When you move the screen up and down or left and right while viewing, the characters may become blurred and difficult to read. There is a match.

[0083] Therefore, frame interpolation processing is used to increase the frame frequency and improve the resolution of moving images. Frame interpolation is a process that adds frames to reduce afterimages. This is the process of interpolating frame data when increasing the frame frequency. For example, as shown in Figure 2(A), in the first frame image, a circle is displayed on the left edge. In the second frame, the circle moves from left to right, so it appears on the right edge. In this case, create data that shows a circle in the center. The process of creating the interpolated frame is called frame interpolation. The frame frequency for display can be increased by the number of frames added. By performing frame interpolation processing and displaying at a higher frame frequency, It can accurately display a smooth image in which the light moves from left to right, reducing image retention. Therefore, moving images can be displayed without blurring, In this specification, the video resolution is the image resolution of a video. This refers to the apparent resolution when displayed, and is the resolution that people perceive when viewing a video. For example, if you scroll a wedge-shaped figure on the screen, you can see the resolution at which you can distinguish the intervals. This is what I mean.

[0084] In this way, frame interpolation processing is performed, and the frame frequency is increased accordingly. For example, when the frame frequency is doubled, it is called double speed driving. When the frame frequency is four times, it is called quadruple speed drive. The interpolation process creates an image with the same number of frames as the original. Since the total amount of data is doubled, the frame frequency can be doubled for display. Similarly, in the case of 4x speed operation, frame interpolation is used to generate three times the number of frames. This results in a total of four times the amount of data, so the frame frequency is By performing double speed driving in this way, the moving image characteristics can be improved. This can reduce the amount of light emitted by the LCD, and can reduce the amount of residual images. It is preferable that the display device is a display panel type, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display. Hold-type display devices are suitable for use in applications such as the above. Since afterimages are easily visible, By using double-speed driving, it is possible to reduce afterimages.

[0085] Therefore, by performing both frame interpolation and super-resolution processing, the resolution of still images and the resolution of motion images can be improved. If only super-resolution processing is performed and frame interpolation processing is not performed, the image resolution can be improved. However, if the double speed drive is not performed, the resolution will be increased by the super-resolution processing. However, the image is still blurred due to afterimages, so the increased resolution is not visible. In other words, the effect of super-resolution processing is halved. Alternatively, only frame interpolation processing is performed, double speed driving is performed, and super-resolution processing is not performed. Even though the video can be seen correctly, The resolution of the image itself is low, so it is no longer possible to display high-quality images. From the above, it is possible to accurately capture high-resolution images, whether still images or videos. In order to display the image, it is important to perform both frame interpolation and super-resolution processing. However, the embodiment is not limited to this.

[0086] Figure 1 shows the processing flow for performing super-resolution processing after frame interpolation processing. Here is an example.

[0087] In Figure 1(A), the image signal obtained from the image source is used after frame interpolation processing. The process flow for increasing the resolution by performing super-resolution processing is shown below. can undergo various further processing before the image is displayed.

[0088] The image source may be a TV broadcast signal sent from a broadcasting station, and / or a signal derived from the signal. Or the image source is DVD (including Blu-ray) (including magnetic storage media or magneto-optical storage media), streaming media, such as CDs, Signals obtained from the Internet, etc., and / or images generated from such signals Or the image source is a mobile phone, a computer, a CPU, a graphics Signals obtained from microcomputers, controllers, electronic devices, etc., and / or The image source also contains the signal that is used to generate the image. The present disclosure includes a digital signal and / or an image generated from the digital signal.

[0089] It should be noted that the images include still images and / or video images and / or moving images.

[0090] The image source can be an interlaced image or a progressive image. It can be a non-interlaced (non-interlaced) image or an image The source is IP conversion, a process that converts interlaced images into progressive images. It is possible that the image has already been converted (interlaced-progressive) Alternatively, IP conversion can be performed before or after frame interpolation processing, or before super-resolution processing. FIG. 3(A) shows the super-resolution process using a progressive image. Part of the processing flow is shown in Fig. 3(B). A part of the processing flow when performing frame interpolation processing is shown in FIG. When the image is IP converted, frame interpolation is performed, and then super-resolution processing is performed. Part of the processing flow is shown in Fig. 3(D). 1 shows a part of a processing flow when performing resolution processing.

[0091] Usually, super-resolution processing is performed on one image (or a part of it) or on multiple images (or The super-resolution process is carried out by using a part of the images. By producing high-resolution images, it is possible to accurately In order to perform super-resolution processing, it is necessary to consider the fact that some image information is missing, such as interlacing. Therefore, the image to be super-resolution processed is a progressive (non-intensity) image. It is desirable to have an image that is interlaced or non-interlaced. In the case of images with a progressive image quality, IP conversion is performed before the super-resolution process. It is preferable to use the super-resolution image to perform super-resolution processing. Not limited.

[0092] In addition, IP conversion can be performed before or after super-resolution processing. And / or IP conversion The frame interpolation process can be performed before or after the IP conversion. It can be done before or after other processing.

[0093] As shown in Figure 4(A), the resolution (number of pixels) of the image before super-resolution processing is However, it is desirable for the resolution (number of pixels) of the image after super-resolution processing to be higher, An example of the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, before performing the super-resolution processing, enlargement processing or the like may be performed. In that case, the resolution (or number of pixels) is already high. Since the image quality is higher, the resolution itself does not change before and after super-resolution processing. However, The enlargement process before the super-resolution process does not restore the missing image information. It is just enlarged, so the display itself is not of high quality. For example, A park with many small stones or a tree with many small leaves In images such as these, each small stone and each fine leaf can be seen through the enlargement process. , it is not displayed accurately, but is simply enlarged and displayed in a blurry state. Therefore, the image resolution (number of pixels) does not change when super-resolution processing is performed. However, the missing image information is restored, resulting in a high-quality image in which even fine details can be distinguished. That is, as shown in FIG. 4B, a 1440×1080 image The image is enlarged to 1920 x 1080, and the 1920 x 1080 image is enlarged to 1920 x It is also possible to perform super-resolution processing on 1080 images. In this case, the 1440 x 1080 If you enlarge the image to 1920 x 1080, no information is restored. After super-resolution processing, the information is restored, so even the finer details can be accurately identified. It is possible to create an image that can be viewed as such.

[0094] This often happens across the entire screen, but in this embodiment, However, the present invention is not limited to the above. It is also possible for the image to occur in only a part of the screen.

[0095] In addition, the resolution is increased by enlargement processing, and then further increased by super-resolution processing. For example, you can change the resolution of an 800x600 image to a 1440x1080 image. The image is enlarged and the 1440 x 1080 image is super-resolution processed to a 1920 x 1080 image. However, if the resolution is increased by enlarging the image, the information However, when the resolution is increased by super-resolution processing, the information is not restored. However, the embodiment is not limited to this.

[0096] Alternatively, the resolution can be increased by super-resolution processing, and then the resolution can be further increased by enlargement processing. For example, it is possible to reduce the resolution of an 800 x 600 image to a 1440 x 1080 image. Then, the 1440 x 1080 image is enlarged to a 1920 x 1080 image. However, if the resolution is increased by enlarging the image, the information may be lost. No restoration has been done. And when the resolution is increased by super-resolution processing, the information However, the embodiment is not limited to this.

[0097] The enlargement process can be performed before or after the super-resolution process. The frame interpolation process can be performed before or after the frame interpolation process. This can be done before or after processing, although the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto. It won't be done.

[0098] In this way, it is possible to perform both enlargement and super-resolution processing. In order to increase the resolution in the horizontal direction by more than twice, and more preferably by more than five times, enlargement and However, the embodiment is not limited to these. Not determined.

[0099] As an example of the enlargement process, a bilinear method or a bicubic method is used. The bilinear method samples and calculates the four surrounding pixels, eliminating inconsistencies when enlarging. This is a method of interpolating the pixels to be added. Or, in the bicubic method, the coordinate system base after transformation is In the standard, 16 pixel values ​​of 4 × 4 are extracted from the source. The values ​​of the six points are weighted and a weighted average is calculated to determine the converted pixel value.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 4(C), the image may or may not have been enlarged. If the screen is partially or entirely enlarged, When super-resolution processing is performed and no enlargement processing is performed, that is, when the resolution is originally high It is possible to choose not to perform super-resolution processing. Therefore, by performing image analysis, it is possible to correctly superimpose even on enlarged images. Resolution processing can be performed. As an example of an image analysis method, There is a method to determine whether or not the frequency is high by performing a frequency analysis. In this case, it can be determined that the image has been enlarged.

[0101] Next, for an image with horizontal resolution (number of pixels) A and vertical resolution (number of pixels) B, By performing image processing, the horizontal resolution (number of pixels) becomes C and the vertical resolution (number of pixels) becomes D. Or, suppose the horizontal resolution (number of pixels) is A and the vertical resolution (number of pixels) is B. By enlarging and super-resolution processing the image, the horizontal resolution (number of pixels) Let's say the image has a resolution of C and a vertical resolution (number of pixels) of D. Then, by performing super-resolution processing, The magnification when the resolution is increased is C / A, which is C divided by A, or On the other hand, when double speed driving is performed, the frame rate is Suppose the boom frequency is increased by N times.

[0102] In this case, it is desirable that N>(C / A) or N>(D / B). It is preferable that N≧(C / A) and N≧(D / B). is not limited to this.

[0103] When frame interpolation is performed for double-speed driving, the number of frames to be interpolated is large. Even if you do this, you can still create the data without any problems. For example, in the case of Figure 2(A), However, by adjusting the position of the circle, as shown in Figure 2(B), it is easy to make it three times faster. In other words, the frame interpolation process for double-speed driving is Even if the number of data is large, it does not cause any major problems in the image. By increasing the number of frame data, the video characteristics can be further improved and image retention can be reduced. It is possible to further reduce

[0104] On the other hand, super-resolution processing recovers the resolution information that was lost during shooting and signal transmission. Therefore, if too much information has been lost, , it becomes difficult to fully restore it. Therefore, (C / A) or (D / B ) too large will cause problems with the image itself and result in distorted images.

[0105] From the above, when performing both frame interpolation processing and super-resolution processing, N>(C / A) Or, it is preferable that N>(D / B). Or, N≧(C / A) and N≧ (D / B) is desirable. Therefore, both super-resolution processing and frame interpolation processing are performed. By satisfying this relationship, fine details can be clearly seen. Moreover, it is possible to display a high-quality image without any afterimage. This is a non-limiting example.

[0106] When frame interpolation is performed, the frame is In many cases, new data is created for the interpolation process. In areas where there is no data, data is often not newly created. The frame interpolation process creates new data in the area where the new data is created, and For example, in the case of Fig. 2(A), as shown in Fig. 2(C), In the area 301 and the area 303, the data of the first frame before the interpolation and the data of the second frame before the interpolation are Therefore, there is no change in the data of the interpolated frame. No new data is created, and the data is the first frame before the interpolation or the data after the interpolation. The data is created using the data of the second frame from the previous time. There is a change between the data of the first frame before interpolation and the data of the second frame before interpolation. Therefore, there are areas where the circles are erased and areas where circles are created, so new data is being created. This will be the case.

[0107] In this way, when frame interpolation processing is performed, new data is created within the screen. There may be areas where new data is not created and areas where new data is not created. The area changes from moment to moment. For example, an example of an area where data is created is a subtitle. Examples of such areas include areas where characters are displayed and the characters move up and down or left and right. When letters or symbols become difficult to see due to afterimages, it becomes difficult to tell what kind of letters or symbols they are. This becomes a major problem because it becomes impossible to determine the

[0108] In this way, when frame interpolation processing is performed, new images are added only to a part of the screen. Creating data quickly can improve processing speed, reduce power consumption, or improve processing accuracy. It has the advantage of improving the degree of

[0109] On the other hand, super-resolution processing is not performed on the entire screen, but on some areas. For example, it is possible to display streaming broadcasts on a portion of the screen. In such a case, a low-resolution image may be enlarged and displayed only in that area. In this case, super-resolution processing is performed only on the area displaying the streaming broadcast to improve the image quality. It can be improved.

[0110] In this way, when performing super-resolution processing only on a part of the screen, the processing speed This has the advantages of improved image quality, lower power consumption, improved processing accuracy, and reduced image quality defects.

[0111] Therefore, in the screen, the first data is generated for frame interpolation processing. There is a first region where super-resolution processing is performed and a second region where frame interpolation processing is performed. There is a third region where no new data is created for the purpose of super-resolution processing. It is also possible that the first area and the second area do not overlap. Alternatively, the first region and the second region may be overlapped. can be present on the screen.

[0112] New data is created for frame interpolation processing only when characters and symbols such as subtitles are inserted. In most cases, information is displayed, and super-resolution processing is performed on areas with little movement. Therefore, new frames are added to the screen for frame interpolation processing. The first area in which the super-resolution data is generated does not overlap with the second area in which the super-resolution processing is performed. It is preferable to have a region for the following reasons: The first area where new data is created for processing is an area of ​​motion, so there is no residual image. To make it invisible, new data is created for frame interpolation processing. In areas with movement like this, even if you use super-resolution processing to increase the resolution, your eyes cannot see the resolution. Therefore, in such areas of motion, It can be said that there are cases where super-resolution processing is not performed. And the second case where super-resolution processing is performed In this area, it is desirable to see even the fine details clearly, and it is a static area with no motion. When you are viewing an image like a painting, it is important to be able to see the fine details clearly. Since such a situation may occur, both frame interpolation and super-resolution processing This allows you to display a screen that has the advantages of both, while still allowing you to use the frame rate. The first area is where new data is created for the image interpolation process, and the second area is where the super-resolution process is performed. It is possible for the regions to have no overlapping areas, resulting in an optimal image. However, the embodiment is not limited to this.

[0113] In this way, by performing frame interpolation processing and super-resolution processing, It becomes possible to display images with high resolution and high video resolution.

[0114] In addition, if you perform frame interpolation processing before super-resolution processing, The frame frequency is also increasing. Therefore, the processing speed of the super-resolution processing cannot keep up. Therefore, it is possible to provide multiple processing systems that perform super-resolution processing. For example, FIG. 1B shows a case where two super-resolution processing systems are provided. Figure 1(C) shows a case where three logic systems are provided. Similarly, any number of processing systems can be provided. It is Noh.

[0115] When multiple processing systems are provided, it is possible to allocate processing to each processing system in various ways. For example, the right half of the screen is processed by super-resolution processing 1, and the left half of the screen is processed by super-resolution processing 2. Normally, image data is transferred line by line, so it takes one line of image data to be transferred. By dividing the data into two parts, left and right, the processing is allocated to super-resolution processing 1 and super-resolution processing 2. However, the embodiment is not limited to this.

[0116] Or, a certain frame (for example, an odd-numbered frame, or a frame interpolation process) The frames that are not even-numbered are processed by super-resolution processing 1, and other frames (e.g., even-numbered frames) are processed by super-resolution processing 2. The frame (or the frame created by frame interpolation) is processed by super-resolution processing 2. This allows the processing speed of super-resolution processing to be faster than the frame frequency. Even if the processing is slower than the first, it is possible to complete the processing normally by alternating the processing. Since the processing speed of one processing system can be slow, power consumption can be reduced. do.

[0117] In addition, in one embodiment of the present invention, the super-resolution process is performed after the frame interpolation process is completed. For example, as shown in FIG. 5(A), the super-resolution image is generated while performing frame interpolation processing. First, image data A is supplied from an image source. Since this is the original image data, it is not image data created by frame interpolation processing. Therefore, the super-resolution processing can be performed immediately. Next, image data B is The image data A and B are supplied from the source. The frame data is interpolated using image data A and image data B. During the image processing, the image data A can be used to perform super-resolution processing. In other words, image data A is used for both frame interpolation processing and super-resolution processing. Therefore, it can be seen that the super-resolution processing and the frame interpolation processing are performed simultaneously. Then, image data A and image data B are used for frame interpolation to produce an image. Then, data C is generated by frame interpolation using image data A and image data B. The image data C is subjected to super-resolution processing. In this way, the frame interpolation processing and the super-resolution processing are performed. By processing simultaneously, the number of memories required to store image data A can be reduced. If image data A is stored in one memory, it can be processed by super-resolution processing and frame interpolation processing. However, the frame data can be processed by reading the data separately. The image data created by this process is then subjected to frame interpolation and then super-resolution processing. However, the embodiment is not limited to these examples.

[0118] As in FIG. 1B, multiple processing systems are provided for super-resolution processing, and It is possible to simultaneously perform frame interpolation processing. An example of this is shown in Figure 5(B). For example, super-resolution processing is performed on at least image data A using super-resolution processing 2. At the same time, frame interpolation processing is performed using at least the image data A. Also, the image data A is used to simultaneously perform frame interpolation processing and super-resolution processing. Using resolution processing 1, super-resolution processing is performed on the frame-interpolated image data. In this way, by providing multiple super-resolution processing systems, the processes can be performed simultaneously. In addition, frame data that is not created by frame interpolation can be processed using super-resolution processing 2. By using this method, super-resolution processing can be performed quickly. Once input, it can be displayed quickly. Therefore, it is suitable for real-time games. However, this is an example of an embodiment. is not limited to this.

[0119] In addition, when multiple processes are carried out simultaneously, they are carried out simultaneously only during a part of each processing period. In other words, it is possible to perform multiple processes simultaneously. However, it is possible to have periods when multiple processes are not being performed at the same time. It is also possible for multiple processes to be performed simultaneously during the entire processing period.

[0120] Alternatively, it may be as shown in FIG. 5(C). For example, at least for image data A, Then, the super-resolution process is performed using the super-resolution process 1 or the super-resolution process 2. Frame interpolation is performed using image data A. Then, frame interpolation processing and super-resolution processing are performed at the same time. Using image processing 1, super-resolution processing is performed on the frame-interpolated image data. By providing multiple super-resolution processing systems, the processes can be performed simultaneously. In addition, frame data that is not created by frame interpolation may be processed using super-resolution processing1 or By using super-resolution processing 2, super-resolution processing can be performed quickly. Once image data is input, it can be displayed quickly. This is suitable for displaying images that require real-time processing, such as the following: The embodiment is not limited to this example.

[0121] As an example, the processing flow is shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. An example of a configuration (block diagram) for implementing this is shown in FIG. For example, an image source is input to the output terminal of the circuit 101. The output terminal of the circuit 102 is connected to the output terminal of the circuit 103. The circuit 101 is connected to an input terminal of the ... The circuit 102 has a function of performing super-resolution processing, for example. The circuit 101 or the circuit 102 has a memory circuit (memory) for storing information. Alternatively, the circuit 101 or the circuit 102 may have a unit for calculating It is possible to do so.

[0122] Alternatively, another example of the configuration (block diagram) for implementing the processing flow is shown in FIG. 6(B). FIG. 6B corresponds to FIG. 1B. For example, an image source is connected to the input terminal of the circuit 101. The output terminal of the circuit 101 is connected to the output terminal of the circuit 102 via the switch 103a. The output terminal of the circuit 101 is connected to the input terminal of the switch 103. The output terminal of the circuit 102a is connected to the input terminal of the circuit 102b via The output terminal of the circuit 102b is connected to the output terminal of the circuit 102b via the switch 104a. is connected to the output terminal via the switch 104b. In this way, the switch 103b is connected between the input terminal of the circuit 102b and the input terminal of the circuit 101. It is also possible to connect the circuit 10 to the circuit 10 shown in FIG. 6(C) which corresponds to FIG. 5(B). The circuit 102a and the circuit 102b have a function of performing frame interpolation processing. The circuit 101 or the circuit 102 has a function of performing super-resolution processing. Alternatively, the circuit 101 or the circuit 10 2 may have a unit for calculating. 103b, 104a, and / or 104b, respectively. This allows simultaneous processing.

[0123] Note that each of the circuit 101, the circuit 102, the circuit 102a, and / or the circuit 102b is The functions can be realized by using hardware or by using software. It is possible to achieve this using both hardware and software. Yes, it is possible. By implementing it using hardware, it is possible to increase the processing speed. Alternatively, it is possible to reduce power consumption. This makes it possible to change the processing content and perform various processes as appropriate.

[0124] Alternatively, a multi-core CPU with multiple CPU cores can be used to process the data. By distributing the processing, it is possible to perform multiple super-resolution processes and frame interpolation processes. In this way, by using a multi-core CPU, high-speed processing is possible with fewer components. Such a multi-core CPU can be implemented in a semiconductor device with SOI. By using SOI, It can be operated with low power consumption and the heat generation during operation can be kept low.

[0125] Even if the number of processes increases, the circuit 101, the circuit 102, the circuit 102a, or the circuit 1 By adding circuits like 02b, a circuit similar to that in Figure 6 can be constructed. Note that the processing performed by the circuit 101, the circuit 102, the circuit 102a, or the circuit 102b is The present invention is not limited to resolution processing or frame interpolation processing. Various other processing can be performed. do.

[0126] In addition, in the contents described above and / or the contents described below, Alternatively, it is possible to simply perform an enlargement process or the like.

[0127] (Embodiment 2) Next, we will explain an example of super-resolution processing technology. By using super-resolution processing, The image can be displayed.

[0128] First, we detect regions that have motion and extract the velocity information of those regions. For an image in, we use vectors representing the flow of each pixel from the two images before and after it. Then, the position per image of the relevant area is calculated from the extracted velocity information. The amount of displacement is detected with an accuracy of less than one pixel. Then, the amount of misalignment between the images is calculated based on the detected amount of misalignment. By performing this process, the physical resolution is In this way, super-resolution processing technology can generate images with a resolution that exceeds 100x the resolution of a single pixel. Information for high-resolution image restoration is generated based on motion vector information from low-resolution images. It can be said that it is a technology for extracting and restoring data.

[0129] As a method of similar super-resolution processing technology, for example, first, consecutive highly correlated images are extracted from the image. Then, motion vectors of the image are detected with a precision close to that of pixels. Then, pixel-by-pixel motion is tracked and the change information of the tracked pixels between each frame is Then, the camera shakes slightly, and the system tries to guess the missing high-resolution pixels. Therefore, even though the same part is photographed, the low-resolution part is crushed. This information is then used to fill in the missing pixels and achieve high resolution. In other words, this processing method is a time-dependent process that searches deeply in the time direction. In this case, the motion vector This allows for precise measurement of the interframe distance, which could not be obtained due to camera resolution during shooting. It is also possible to restore defective pixels.

[0130] Alternatively, another super-resolution process can be used to search for similarities across multiple frames. Similar frames are aligned to understand the temporal changes of each pixel. A method can be used to predictively generate the missing high-resolution pixels.

[0131] Alternatively, as another super-resolution process, first, multiple consecutive image information is analyzed. By correcting the common parts of the subject, high frequency components are restored. This allows you to create a high resolution image. It is possible to obtain.

[0132] Alternatively, a reconstruction-type super-resolution processing method can be used as another super-resolution processing method. In the constructive super-resolution processing method, first, a high-resolution image (initial high-resolution Then, from the assumed high-resolution image, the Based on the point spread function (PSF) of the pixel, the pixel value of each pixel in the low-resolution image is calculated. In other words, the original low-resolution image is down-converted using a unique function (imaging model function). Then, we create a low-resolution image with the same resolution as the image with the same resolution. Then, we compare the estimated value with the observed pixel value ( The difference between the image before down-conversion and the observed value is taken. Then, the difference becomes smaller for the image before down-conversion. This search process is repeated until convergence, and the accuracy is improved. It is possible to improve the search rate or to perform the search only once. This allows High resolution images can be obtained.

[0133] As the imaging model function, for example, a one-dimensional linear filter is applied vertically, horizontally, and two-dimensionally. It is possible to use an image sensor model that has been obtained by the above method.

[0134] In the case of this reconstruction-based super-resolution processing method, the image is processed by repeated calculations that require an initial high-resolution image. The method used to reconstruct high-resolution images is ML. (Maximum-likelihood) method, MAP(Maximum A Post erior method or POCS (Projection On to Convex It is possible to use the method such as the Sets method.

[0135] In the ML method, the estimated pixel value from the assumed high-resolution image and the actually observed pixel value are The square error is used as the evaluation function. Then, we select the high-resolution image that minimizes the evaluation function. This is a method of making a fixed image.

[0136] The MAP method is a method that minimizes an evaluation function that adds probability information of high-resolution images to the square error. In other words, the MAP method estimates a certain prior for the high-resolution image. Using observed information, we estimate high-resolution images as an optimization problem to maximize the posterior probability. It is an image processing method.

[0137] The POCS method creates simultaneous equations for the pixel values ​​of the high-resolution image and the low-resolution image, This is a method for solving equations sequentially.

[0138] In addition, multiple frames of an image are synthesized into one frame. Increase the resolution of the image by canceling the aliasing component. It is also possible to perform high-resolution processing.

[0139] Alternatively, iterative methods, frequency domain methods, statistical methods, etc. can be used as super-resolution processing methods. Iterative methods have three main steps: first, an initial guess is made; Second, there is the imaging process, and third, there is the reconstruction process.

[0140] It should be noted that super-resolution processing can be performed on the entire screen. Examples of the form are not limited to these. It is possible to perform super-resolution processing depending on the content of the image. For example, in the edge and flat areas of an image, super-resolution processing is not performed, and the texture is In this case, the image is processed in real time. Then, we perform super-resolution processing only on the areas with high frequencies. In this way, by controlling whether or not to perform super-resolution processing depending on the image, This makes it possible to reduce the deterioration of the image.

[0141] Note that a flat area is a region where the frequency of a specific frequency range or a specific luminance range is highly distributed. Therefore, the sky with its relatively gentle color distribution and the blurred background correspond to this. Therefore, this is the area where gradation expression is the main feature in the image. It is possible.

[0142] The texture part is the part of the image with high frequency. Since the pixel density is high, there is a high possibility that there are more details. By performing super-resolution processing, the effect of increasing the resolution is extremely large. is possible.

[0143] In addition, when performing super-resolution processing, the resolution is recognized in various areas of the image, It is also possible to apply different strengths of super-resolution processing to different regions.

[0144] If the resolution of the original image is high enough, it is possible to avoid super-resolution processing. It is possible. It is possible to judge whether the resolution of the original image is high or not, and depending on the result, perform super-resolution processing. It is also possible to control whether or not the process is performed.

[0145] As described above, there are various super-resolution processing techniques. The super-resolution processing technique in this specification is However, the present invention is not limited to the above.

[0146] (Embodiment 3) After super-resolution processing or frame interpolation processing, various processing can be performed to display the image. Therefore, the contents described in the other embodiments may be applied to, combined with, or used in this embodiment. can perform substitutions etc.

[0147] In FIG. 7(A), the image signal that has been subjected to frame interpolation processing is used to perform super-resolution processing, and the resolution is The process flow for performing edge enhancement processing after increasing the image quality is shown in FIG. After that, various further processing can be performed, and then the image can be displayed. Therefore, the process flow of FIG. 7A is the same as that of FIG. 1A except that edge enhancement processing is further performed. This corresponds to the case.

[0148] In this way, by performing super-resolution processing before edge enhancement processing, the resolution can be accurately adjusted. The image before super-resolution processing has not been subjected to edge enhancement processing. Therefore, no unnecessary processing is performed. If edge enhancement processing were performed before the super-resolution processing, If the image is processed by edge enhancement, the image is processed by edge enhancement. If an image that has been subjected to such processing is used, super-resolution processing may not be performed accurately. Image processing is a process that creates new high-resolution images, so it is necessary to accurately create high-resolution images. To create an image, an image without edge enhancement processing, that is, an image close to the original image, is required. It is desirable to perform super-resolution processing using the image in the above state. By performing super-resolution processing before the image is captured, it is possible to perform super-resolution processing accurately. The more accurate and higher resolution images produced by super-resolution processing are used to enhance the edges. This allows for more accurate contouring of objects in the image. Therefore, to obtain a good quality image, To achieve this, it is important to perform super-resolution processing before edge enhancement processing. An example of the form is not limited to this.

[0149] Similarly, by performing frame interpolation before edge enhancement, the frame can be accurately adjusted. It is possible to create interpolated data using more accurate, higher resolution images. Since it is possible to perform edge enhancement processing, it is possible to obtain the edges of objects in an image more accurately. This allows for a clearer image to be obtained.

[0150] It should be noted that the edge enhancement process is not limited to the above example, and may be applied to other image processing. Other image processing such as smoothing, distortion correction, etc. can be performed. Correction, error processing, scratch correction, color correction, gamma correction, inverse gamma correction, etc., instead of edge emphasis processing It is possible to perform this instead of, or in addition to, edge enhancement processing. For example, By doing so, images with a NTSC ratio of less than 100% can be converted to images with a ratio of more than 100%. This makes it possible to display images with high color purity.

[0151] In addition, when performing multiple image processing such as edge enhancement processing, it is possible to process them consecutively. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, one image processing is performed before a certain processing A, and another image processing is performed after a certain processing B. It is also possible to perform this after process B.

[0152] Note that the contents and drawings described in the first embodiment may include other processes such as edge enhancement. Similarly, the above can be applied to the case where a certain process is performed. The description or drawings can be similarly applied to cases where other processing is performed.

[0153] As an example, the processing flow for super-resolution processing with multiple processing systems is shown in Figure 7(B). The processing flow in FIG. 7(B) is the same as that in FIG. 1(B) when edge enhancement processing is performed. The same can be applied to other processing flows.

[0154] Note that various other processes can be performed before or after each step in the process flow. Examples of other various processes include IP conversion, enlargement, and other processes. It is also possible to reason about this.

[0155] Next, as a process to be performed after the super-resolution process, the overdriving process is performed in the same way as the edge enhancement process. The process flow for edge enhancement processing is shown in FIG. The contents or drawings described in this case also apply to the case of performing other processes such as overdrive processing. Similarly, the contents or drawings described in the case of a certain process can be applied to The same can be applied to the case where other processing is performed.

[0156] Overdrive processing is a process for increasing the response speed of liquid crystal elements. Each pixel on the screen is supplied with a signal that matches the gradation that you want to display at that pixel. In the case of a device, the response speed is slow, so even if a signal that matches the gray scale is supplied, It is not possible to display the gradation in accordance with the actual gradation, and it takes several frames before the gradation is finally displayed. Therefore, when supplying voltage to the liquid crystal element, the display is made to match the original gradation. Instead of supplying a voltage that matches the tuning, a voltage with a larger amplitude is supplied to the liquid crystal element. As a result, the transmittance of the liquid crystal element changes suddenly. The above operation makes it possible to increase the response speed of the liquid crystal element. , a voltage with a larger amplitude than the voltage that matches the original gradation, The act of temporarily supplying the liquid crystal element before the actual supply is called overdrive. How much voltage should be supplied as a voltage with a larger amplitude than the voltage that matches the original gradation? The process of determining whether to supply the extra power is called overdrive processing.

[0157] In this way, by performing overdrive processing after super-resolution processing, the response You can increase the speed and adjust the amount of overdrive to suit your needs. Or, super-resolution processing is a process that creates a new image. Therefore, the image changes due to the processing. Accordingly, the gradation of each pixel changes. Therefore, by performing overdrive processing after super-resolution processing, Overdrive processing can be changed according to the amount of change caused by super-resolution processing. Therefore, by performing overdrive processing after super-resolution processing, This allows the amount of overdrive to be set to an appropriate level, allowing each pixel to be displayed at its optimum gradation. This allows for faster response and accurate overdrive operation. Furthermore, super-resolution processing allows high-resolution display without image retention. Therefore, in order to obtain a good quality image, overdrive processing is required. It is important to perform super-resolution processing before performing the above. However, this embodiment is not limited to this. Not determined.

[0158] Here, the overdrive amount is the amount of the change in the liquid crystal element, etc. caused by the overdrive process. The amplitude of the voltage supplied to the input increases, but this refers to the amount of voltage increase at that time.

[0159] Similarly, by performing overdrive processing after frame interpolation processing, the response The response speed can be increased, the amount of overdrive can be set to an appropriate value, and the remaining Or, the frame interpolation process can be used to display new frame data. Since this is a process that creates image data, the process creates an altered image. As a result, the gradation of each pixel changes. Therefore, after frame interpolation processing, By performing overdrive processing, the amount of change caused by frame interpolation processing is reduced. Accordingly, the overdrive processing can be changed. After processing, overdrive processing is performed to adjust the overdrive amount. Since the size can be adjusted appropriately, each pixel can have an optimal gradation. The response speed can be increased, and overdrive driving can be performed accurately. In addition, frame interpolation processing can be used to obtain a display with less residual images. To obtain a high-quality image, frame interpolation is performed before overdrive processing. However, the embodiment is not limited to this example.

[0160] In addition, overdrive processing may be performed in areas where there is movement on the screen. And in areas of the screen where there is no movement, there is no residual image, so there is no overexposure. Drive processing is rarely performed. In other words, overdrive processing is not performed within the screen. There are areas where overdrive processing is performed and areas where overdrive processing is not performed. These areas change from moment to moment. In this way, only a part of the screen is When performing overdrive processing, it is necessary to improve the processing speed, reduce power consumption, or improve the processing accuracy. There are advantages such as improvement.

[0161] On the other hand, super-resolution processing is not performed on the entire screen, but on some areas. In this way, it is possible to perform super-resolution processing only in a part of the screen. When processing, it is necessary to improve the processing speed, reduce power consumption, improve the processing accuracy, or reduce the quality of image. There are advantages such as reduction.

[0162] When processing is performed in a part of the screen, overdrive processing is performed within the screen. There is a first area where super-resolution processing is performed, and a second area where super-resolution processing is performed. It is possible that there is a third region where no processing is performed. However, it is possible for a non-overlapping area to exist within the screen. It is possible that an overlapping area between the first area and the second area exists within the screen.

[0163] Therefore, the first area where the overdrive processing is performed and the second area where the super-resolution processing is performed are Consider a region where the two regions do not overlap. In such a situation, overdrive The first area where processing is performed is an area where there is movement, so in order to prevent residual images from being seen, However, in such a moving area, if Even if the resolution is increased through super-resolution processing, it may be difficult for the eye to recognize the increased resolution. Therefore, in such moving areas, super-resolution processing may not be performed. As a result, in such a case, the first region where the overdrive process is performed and the second region where the super-resolution processing is performed may have a region where they do not overlap. In such a case, the second region where the super-resolution processing is performed has fine It is desirable to be able to see every part clearly, and it is not good to use still images. When you view the image, you can see the fine details clearly. A first area where the overdrive processing is performed and a second area where the super-resolution processing is performed overlap. It can be said that there are cases where there are areas where the

[0164] A first region where overdrive processing is performed and a second region where super-resolution processing is performed overlap. In the area where the image becomes blurred, the response speed is fast, there is little residual image, and the fine details are clearly displayed. This allows the user to see the image more realistically.

[0165] Until now, when edge enhancement or overdrive processing was performed after super-resolution processing, However, the processing performed after the super-resolution processing is not limited to these. Similar to the case of overdrive processing, local It is also possible to perform dimming (local brightness control of the backlight). The process flow is shown in FIG. 7(D). The contents or drawings described when performing the process may include local dimming (local brightness of the backlight). The same can be applied to local disk control processing. The contents or drawings described in the case of performing backlight local brightness control are The same can be applied to the case where processing is performed.

[0166] Here, local dimming (local brightness control of the backlight) refers to the This is a technology that changes the brightness of the backlight to display images. Depending on the image, the brightness of the backlight will be different for each area within a single screen. For example, if there is an area on the screen that displays low gradations, the backlight brightness of that area can be reduced. Furthermore, if there is an area on the screen that displays high gradations, the backlight in that area will be Then, based on the backlight brightness, the transparency of each pixel is This allows the display of low gradations on the screen to be accurate. In the display area, the brightness of the backlight itself is low, so the effect of light leakage can be reduced. Therefore, in such an area, if you want to display black, it will be displayed as completely black. In addition, in areas of the screen where high gradations are displayed, the backlight The brightness of the display itself is high, so it can display a sufficiently bright image. In the range, if you want to display white, you need to increase the brightness to a level higher than normal white, and set the peak brightness to Therefore, the contrast can be improved. , it is possible to display a sharp image. Furthermore, local dimming The brightness of the backlight itself can also be reduced, making it possible to reduce power consumption. Therefore, to perform local dimming, the backlight of each area needs to be adjusted according to the image to be displayed. The process to determine the backlight brightness and the image to be displayed based on that backlight brightness. There is a process to determine the transmittance of each pixel so that the image can be displayed correctly. This process, or part of this process, is called local dimming process. Therefore, in local dimming processing, the process of determining the backlight brightness for each area is After that, it is possible to carry out a process to determine the video signal to be supplied to each pixel. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. The process of determining the brightness of each pixel and the process of determining the video signal supplied to each pixel are recorded separately. The processing flow when the above is performed can also be expressed as shown in FIG. 7(E).

[0167] In this way, it is preferable to perform local dimming processing after performing super-resolution processing. When super-resolution processing is performed, it is as if new information has been added by restoring the information. Therefore, the number of gradations for each pixel may be different before and after super-resolution processing. There will be areas on the screen where the number of pixel gradations changes before and after image processing. After the image information is restored by super-resolution processing, local dimming By performing local dimming processing, accurate local dimming processing can be performed. This improves contrast and allows accurate image display. To obtain good quality images, perform super-resolution processing before performing local dimming processing. It is important to determine the brightness of the backlight in local dimming processing. It is important to perform super-resolution processing before performing processing to determine the local dimming. In the image processing, super-resolution processing is performed before the processing that determines the video signal to be supplied to the pixel is performed. However, the embodiment is not limited to the above.

[0168] In addition, when local dimming is in progress, the backlight brightness is reduced. Therefore, even if the transmittance of a pixel changes slightly, the actual gray scale of the display does not change very much. In other words, when the backlight brightness is low, the transmittance of the pixel is changed. This makes it possible to express finer gradations. In other words, the number of gradations that can be displayed is large. Therefore, the local dimming process and the super-resolution process can be By performing both, high-resolution images can be displayed with high expressiveness that allows fine details to be distinguished. In particular, it is possible to properly express gradations in dark areas of the screen. This makes it possible to avoid displaying images with lost gradation.

[0169] In addition, local dimming processing is performed in areas on the screen where small gradation numbers are displayed. In areas where a large number of gradations are displayed on the screen, In areas with high brightness and many bright displays, it is difficult to reduce the brightness of the backlight. Cardimming is rarely performed. In other words, local dimming is not performed on the screen. There are areas where local dimming processing is performed and areas where local dimming processing is not performed. These areas change from moment to moment. When performing local dimming processing only by the , and has advantages such as improved processing accuracy.

[0170] On the other hand, super-resolution processing is not performed on the entire screen, but on some areas. In this way, it is possible to perform super-resolution processing only in a part of the screen. When processing, it is necessary to improve the processing speed, reduce power consumption, improve the processing accuracy, or reduce the quality of image. There are advantages such as reduction.

[0171] When processing is performed in a partial area of ​​the screen, local dimming processing is performed within the screen. The first region is divided into a first region where the backlight brightness is reduced and a second region where super-resolution processing is performed. In addition, both local dimming and super-resolution processing are performed. It is also possible that there is a third region that is not covered by the local dimming process. A first region is formed in which the backlight luminance is reduced, and a second region is formed in which super-resolution processing is performed. However, it is possible for a non-overlapping area to exist within the screen. It is possible that an overlapping area with the second area exists within the screen.

[0172] A first region in which the luminance of the backlight is reduced by performing local dimming processing; In the area where the first and second areas overlap, the contrast is high and the gradation is smooth. The image is rich in tonal expression and allows you to see even the finer details clearly, creating a sense of realism. It is possible to display an image with

[0173] When local dimming is performed, the screen is divided into multiple regions, and each region is The backlight is arranged in each area. The length (or width) of the area or the When the camera is switched on, super-resolution processing is performed on a portion of the screen to display an area of ​​the image with improved resolution. When compared to the length (or width), or pitch, of the pixels in the display device being It is preferable that the length (or width) of the region or the pitch of the region is longer. Therefore, when performing local dimming, not only the backlight brightness of each area is adjusted, but also the pixel The transmittance of the light is also controlled to display the image. Even if the backlight area has a large area, the length (or width) of the backlight area or the pitch of the area may be large. Even if the pitch of each pixel is short, a sufficiently clear and high-resolution display can be achieved.

[0174] It is preferable to divide the area for controlling the brightness of the backlight into several areas within the screen. However, the embodiment is not limited to the above. It is also possible to control the brightness of the entire screen.

[0175] Similarly, it is preferable to perform local dimming processing after performing frame interpolation processing. Frame interpolation is a process that creates new frame data. This creates a changed image, and the gradation of each pixel changes accordingly. Or, if there is an area on the screen where the number of pixel gradations changes before and after frame interpolation processing, Therefore, new frame data is created by the frame interpolation process. After the local dimming process is completed, the local dimming process is performed accurately. This allows for improved contrast and accurate image display. Therefore, in order to obtain a good quality image, local dimming processing is required. It is important to perform frame interpolation before performing local dimming. In the above, a frame interpolation process is performed before a process for determining the luminance of a backlight is performed. Or, in local dimming processing, the video signal supplied to the pixel is It is important to perform frame interpolation before determining the frame number. Examples of the aspect are not limited to these.

[0176] In FIG. 7, the super-resolution process, the frame interpolation process, and other processes such as edge enhancement and overlay are performed. When performing light drive processing and local dimming (local brightness control of the backlight) processing However, the embodiment is not limited to these, and may be any other embodiment. Contour emphasis processing, overdrive processing, local dimming (local brightness control of backlight) ) processing. The drawings may also be similarly applied to cases where other processing is performed.

[0177] For example, in addition to the super-resolution processing, frame interpolation processing, and edge enhancement processing, The processing flow in this case is shown in Fig. 8(A) and Fig. 8(B). This corresponds to a case where a different process is performed on the contents described in the embodiment. Examples are not limited to these.

[0178] In FIG. 8(A), frame interpolation is performed using an image signal obtained from an image source. After the frame frequency is increased, super-resolution processing is performed, and after the resolution is increased, edge enhancement processing is performed. The process flow for performing the overdrive process after the above is shown in FIG. The processing flow in (A) corresponds to a case where edge enhancement processing is performed on the image in FIG. 7(C). The processing flow in FIG. 8(A) is different from that in FIG. 1(A) in that it includes edge enhancement processing and overdrive processing. This also applies when processing is performed.

[0179] After overdrive processing, various other processes are performed, and then the image is It is possible to display.

[0180] As in Figs. 1(B), 1(C), 5(B), 5(C), 7(B), etc., It is possible to perform super-resolution processing using a processing system such as that shown in FIG. and FIG. 9(B).

[0181] As shown in FIG. 8(A), FIG. 9(A), or FIG. 9(B), before edge enhancement processing, By performing resolution processing, it is possible to accurately improve the resolution. The image before the filter is not processed, so no unnecessary processing is done. This allows for accurate super-resolution processing.

[0182] Similarly, in order to perform frame interpolation before edge enhancement, the frame interpolation is performed accurately. Then, more accurate and higher resolution images can be used to create contours. Since it is possible to perform enhancement processing, it is possible to obtain the contours of objects in the image more accurately. This allows you to get a clearer image.

[0183] Or, after performing super-resolution processing, edge enhancement processing, and frame interpolation processing, By performing drive processing, the response speed can be increased and the amount of overdrive can be increased. The size of the image can be adjusted appropriately, resulting in a display with less residual images. Frame interpolation processing increases the frame frequency, so overdrive It is also possible to change the processing. Due to the frame interpolation process, the gradation of each pixel changes as the image changes. It is possible to change the overdrive processing according to the amount of change. After super-resolution processing, edge enhancement processing, and frame interpolation processing, overdrive By performing this processing, the amount of overdrive can be adjusted to an appropriate level. Each pixel can be made to have the optimal gradation. This allows for faster response and more accurate In addition, the super-resolution processing can be used to achieve high-resolution images. The display can be obtained without residual images. In addition, the edge enhancement process provides a clear edge. It is possible to display an image. Alternatively, afterimages can be reduced by frame interpolation processing. It is possible to display moving images accurately. Therefore, in order to obtain good quality images, Before performing overdrive processing, super-resolution processing, edge enhancement processing, and frame interpolation processing are performed. However, the embodiment is not limited to this example.

[0184] In FIG. 8B, frame interpolation is performed using an image signal obtained from an image source. After the frame frequency is increased, super-resolution processing is performed, and after the resolution is increased, edge enhancement processing is performed. The process flow for performing local dimming processing after the above is shown in FIG. The process flow of FIG. 8(B) corresponds to the case where edge enhancement processing is performed on the image of FIG. 7(D). .

[0185] After the local dimming process, various other processes are performed, and then the image can be displayed.

[0186] In this way, by performing super-resolution processing before edge enhancement processing, the resolution can be accurately adjusted. The image before super-resolution processing has not been subjected to edge enhancement processing. Therefore, no unnecessary processing is performed, and super-resolution processing can be performed accurately.

[0187] Similarly, in order to perform frame interpolation before edge enhancement, the frame interpolation is performed accurately. Then, more accurate and higher resolution images can be used to create contours. Since enhancement processing can be performed, the contours can be obtained more accurately, You can get a clear image.

[0188] Or, after performing super-resolution processing, edge enhancement processing, and frame interpolation processing, local It is preferable to carry out dimming processing. When super-resolution processing is carried out, new information is restored. Therefore, the number of gradations for each pixel is the same as before the super-resolution process. Or, the number of pixel gradations changes before and after super-resolution processing. In the same way, the contours of objects in the image are emphasized. Therefore, the area where the number of pixel gradations changes is Similarly, new frames are created by the frame interpolation process. Therefore, if there is an area on the screen where the number of pixel gradations changes, Therefore, a new frame is created by the frame interpolation process, and the super Resolution processing restores image information, and edge enhancement processing restores image information. After the local dimming process is performed, the local dimming process is performed to accurately adjust the local dimming. It is possible to perform a filtering process to improve contrast and produce accurate images. Therefore, to get a good quality image, local dimming is required. Before performing the filtering process, super-resolution processing, edge enhancement processing, and frame interpolation processing can be performed. It is also important to determine the brightness of the backlight in local dimming processing. It is important to perform super-resolution processing, edge enhancement processing, and frame interpolation processing before processing. Or, in local dimming processing, it is necessary to determine the video signal to be supplied to the pixel. Before performing the process to obtain the super-resolution process, the edge enhancement process, and the frame interpolation process, However, the embodiment is not limited to the above.

[0189] In FIG. 8(C), frame interpolation is performed using the image signal obtained from the image source, and super-resolution processing is performed. After that, local dimming is performed, and then overdrive is performed. The process flow in FIG. 8(C) shows the process flow when performing the EVE process. This corresponds to the case where local dimming processing is performed on (A). The processing flow of ) corresponds to the case where overdrive processing is performed on FIG. 8(B). Alternatively, the processing flow of FIG. 8(C) is different from that of FIG. 1(A) in that the overdrive processing and This also corresponds to the case where local dimming processing is performed. This also corresponds to the case where local dimming processing is performed on the image shown in FIG. 7(C). The process flow of FIG. 8(C) is the same as that of FIG. 7(D) when local dimming is performed. It also corresponds to the combination.

[0190] In this way, after the super-resolution processing and frame interpolation processing, local dimming processing is performed. When super-resolution processing is performed, new information is added by information restoration. Therefore, the number of gradations of each pixel is different before and after the super-resolution process. Or, the area on the screen where the number of pixel gradations changes before and after super-resolution processing may be Similarly, new frames are created through frame interpolation, A new image is created. Therefore, there are areas on the screen where the number of pixel gradations changes. Therefore, new frames are created by the frame interpolation process, and the super-resolution After the image information is restored by image processing, local dimming processing is performed. This allows accurate local dimming processing, resulting in improved contrast. Therefore, it is possible to improve the image quality and display accurate images. To obtain an image, super-resolution processing and frame compensation are performed before local dimming processing. It is important to perform local dimming processing. It is important to perform super-resolution processing and frame interpolation processing before performing the processing to determine the brightness of the image. Or, in local dimming processing, it is necessary to determine the video signal to be supplied to the pixel. It is important to perform super-resolution processing and frame interpolation processing before performing the processing to However, the embodiment is not limited to these examples.

[0191] Or, after frame interpolation, super-resolution and local dimming, By performing overdrive processing, the response speed can be increased, and The amount of light can be adjusted to an appropriate level, resulting in a display with less residual images. , frame interpolation, super-resolution and local dimming processing to improve image and background quality. As the brightness of the light changes, the gradation of each pixel changes, so Therefore, the overdrive processing can be changed depending on the frame. After image processing, super-resolution processing, and local dimming processing, overdrive processing is performed. By doing so, the amount of overdrive can be set to an appropriate value, so each pixel can be Therefore, the response speed can be increased and the overlay can be accurately adjusted. Furthermore, super-resolution processing can be used to display high resolution images. In addition, local dimming processing allows for high contrast images. It is possible to display a clear image. Or, afterimages can be reduced by frame interpolation processing. Therefore, in order to obtain a good quality image, Before the overdrive process, frame interpolation, super-resolution and local distortion are performed. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. .

[0192] In this way, when both local dimming and overdrive processing are performed, the As shown in (D), after local dimming, overdrive processing is performed. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. Various other processes can occur before or after each step in the flow. Examples of various types of processing include super-resolution processing, edge enhancement processing, frame interpolation processing, and overdrive processing. There are also other processes such as image processing, local dimming processing, IP conversion processing, and enlargement processing. It is also possible to reason about this.

[0193] Therefore, when overdrive processing is performed in FIG. 8(B) or FIG. ), when performing local dimming processing, the processing flow shown in FIG. However, the embodiment is not limited to this.

[0194] (Embodiment 4) Next, a case where a part of the process flow is modified will be described. The contents described above can be applied to, combined with, or substituted for this embodiment. .

[0195] Figure 10 shows parts of Figures 7(E), 7(D), 8(B), 8(C), and 8(E). Here is an example of a deformed image. First, super-resolution processing is performed. Then, Using image data that has not been processed, the backlight in local dimming processing is Then, the brightness control process is performed. Then, the super-resolution process is performed to obtain the data with higher resolution and the resolution is Although the image quality is low, the local data is generated by using the backlight brightness data of each determined area. The video signal to be supplied to each pixel in the timing process is determined.

[0196] When super-resolution processing is performed, the image may not change significantly. The pitch of the light arrangement is much larger than the pixel pitch. Using the data before processing, the backlight of each area in local dimming processing is There is no practical problem even if a process for determining the luminance of the pixel is performed.

[0197] By performing this processing, the buffer for super-resolution processing and local dimming processing is improved. Since the brightness control process for the LCD monitor and the LCD monitor can be performed simultaneously, the overall processing time can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to display images that require real-time performance, such as games. Even in this case, the image can be displayed without delay.

[0198] For example, a multi-core CPU with multiple CPU cores is used, and each CPU core is assigned to perform processing. By distributing the processing, it is possible to perform super-resolution processing and local dimming processing simultaneously. In this way, by using a multi-core CPU, it is possible to achieve high speed with fewer parts. Such a multi-core CPU can process data in a single chip. It can be constructed with semiconductor devices (or transistors). This allows the device to operate with low power consumption and also reduces heat generation during operation.

[0199] In FIG. 10A, the edge enhancement process, the overdrive process, and the frame interpolation process As an example, the flow chart for edge enhancement processing is as follows: is shown in FIG. 10(B). In FIG. 10(B), the image is processed by edge enhancement after super-resolution processing. However, the embodiment is not limited to the above.

[0200] Or, Fig. 11 shows a part of Fig. 7(D), Fig. 8(B), Fig. 8(C), Fig. 8(E), etc., which are modified. Here is another example of the case where the frame is interpolated. Using data from before the frame frequency increased, the backlight in local dimming processing is Then, frame interpolation is performed, and the frame frequency is increased. The resulting data is then used for super-resolution processing. Although the accuracy is low, the backlight brightness data of each determined area is used to perform local display. The process determines the video signal to be supplied to each pixel in the matching process.

[0201] In addition, the control of the backlight brightness in the local dimming process is performed using the super-resolution process. It is also possible to carry out the above simultaneously.

[0202] For example, a multi-core CPU with multiple CPU cores is used, and each CPU core is assigned to perform processing. By distributing the processing, frame interpolation processing, super-resolution processing, and local dimming processing can be performed simultaneously. In this way, by using a multi-core CPU, It is possible to perform high-speed processing with a small number of components. The semiconductor device may be configured to include a semiconductor device (or transistor) having SOI. The use of SOI allows operation with low power consumption and reduces heat generation during operation. It is possible to do so.

[0203] When frame interpolation is performed, the image may not change significantly. The pitch of the backlight arrangement is much larger than the pixel pitch. The data before frame interpolation is used to balance each area in local dimming processing. In practice, there is no problem even if a process for determining the brightness of the backlight is performed.

[0204] By performing such processing, frame interpolation processing and local dimming processing can be performed. The overall processing time is shortened because the processing for controlling the brightness of the backlight can be performed simultaneously. Therefore, it is possible to display images that require real-time processing, such as games. Even if it is done, it can be displayed without delay.

[0205] In addition, in FIG. 11(A), edge enhancement processing, overdrive processing, etc. may also be performed. As an example, a case where edge enhancement processing is also performed is shown in FIG. However, the embodiment is not limited to these examples.

[0206] In FIG. 11A, it is possible to perform super-resolution processing using multiple processing systems. An example of this case is shown in FIG. 12(A) and FIG. 12(B). The processing flow of FIG. corresponds to the case where the processing flow in FIG. 1(B) is applied, and the processing flow in FIG. 12(B) corresponds to the case where the processing flow in FIG. This corresponds to the case where the process flow of FIG. 5(B) is applied. It is possible to apply the content that has been applied, and it is also possible to apply other content in the same way. come.

[0207] (Embodiment 5) In this embodiment, an example of a lighting device will be described. However, the embodiment may be used as a light, a room light, etc. , but is not limited to this.

[0208] FIG. 13 shows a backlight or lighting device using a point light source. As shown in FIG. 1A, a plurality of point light sources 1002 are arranged in an apparatus 1001. By disposing the point light sources 1002 in a uniform plane, it is possible to form a uniform surface light source. The device 1001 can be used as a backlight for a liquid crystal display device or as a part thereof. It is Noh.

[0209] The threshold 1003 is arranged to extend in the horizontal direction. These thresholds 1003 and 1004 are arranged to extend in the vertical direction. By arranging the light source in this way, the surface light source can be divided into multiple regions. The vertical direction is divided into three regions, and the horizontal direction is divided into nine regions. Therefore, The threshold can reduce light leakage to other areas. By controlling the brightness of 02, local dimming (local brightness control of the backlight, LOCAL DIMMING can be realized. In particular, by placing a threshold, This reduces light leakage to other areas, allowing precise control of the brightness of each area. Therefore, it becomes easy to derive the transmittance of the liquid crystal element of each pixel. Since the amount of light emitted from the liquid crystal display is small, the contrast can be improved. This is not limited to the above.

[0210] Alternatively, some of the light sources can be turned off and the off state can be moved around the screen. It is possible to partially turn off the point light sources in the screen and scan the turned-off areas. For example, it is possible to scan from top to bottom. By performing such backlight scanning, image retention is reduced and video characteristics are improved. It is possible to do so.

[0211] In addition, some thresholds, such as threshold 1003, are arranged horizontally. Alternatively, the threshold may be a threshold 1004, etc. It is also possible to arrange only those that are arranged to extend in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. It is also possible not to provide a threshold at all.

[0212] The surface of the threshold 1003 or the threshold 1004 is mirror-finished or white. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. In the case of a mirror surface, Because it can reflect light, it can utilize the light effectively. Therefore, the power consumption is In the case of white, the light can be diffused. Since the boundaries between the regions become less visible, visibility can be improved.

[0213] The transmittance of threshold 1003 or threshold 1004 is 50% or less, or even 30% or less. Alternatively, the transmittance of the threshold 1003 or the threshold 1004 is preferably 1 % or more, and more preferably 5% or more. However, in the embodiment, The low transmittance reduces light leakage and allows precise control of the brightness of each area. However, if the light is not completely transmitted, the boundaries of the areas will be visible. Therefore, by allowing a small amount of light to pass through, This makes the boundary between the two less visible, thereby improving visibility.

[0214] In addition, threshold 1003 and threshold 1004 are made of acrylic, plastic, polycarbonate, etc. It is possible to use organic materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the like. This is a non-limiting example.

[0215] It is also possible to provide a spacer 1005. However, in this embodiment, The spacer 1005 may be omitted. A sheet is placed on the light source 1002, the threshold 1003, or the threshold 1004. It has a function to prevent bending.

[0216] When providing spacers 1005, it is recommended to provide a small number of them. Therefore, for example, in FIG. 13(A), three regions are vertically and one region is horizontally. The spacer 1005 is provided to divide the area into nine areas, making a total of 27 areas. It is possible to create areas where the spacers 1005 are provided and areas where the spacers 1005 are not provided. Alternatively, the number of spacers 1005 can be less than the number of regions. As described above, by not providing the spacers 1005 in all the regions, the manufacturing process can be simplified. and / or costs can be reduced.

[0217] The spacer 1005 is preferably transparent, black, or white. By using black or white, the brightness unevenness can be reduced depending on the presence or absence of the spacer 1005. However, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of color shifts and color distortions. This is a non-limiting example.

[0218] The spacer 1005 can be made of acrylic, plastic, polycarbonate, PET, etc. It is possible to configure the insulating layer 100 including an organic material. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. It won't be done.

[0219] The point light source 1002 may be, for example, a light emitting diode for three colors or a laser for three colors. Each light-emitting diode or laser emits one of three colors: red, blue, and green. For example, by using three-color light-emitting diodes, it is possible to make the color white. So if you can make it white, the colors can be red, blue, green, etc. For example, CMYK such as cyan, magenta, and yellow can be used as a point light source. It is also possible that

[0220] In this way, if the brightness can be controlled for each color, more precise local dimming can be performed. This makes it possible to reduce power consumption and improve contrast. It becomes.

[0221] It is preferable that the number of light emitting diodes of each color is the same. Examples of the above are not limited to the above. It is also possible to increase the number of light-emitting diodes for only one color. For example, the number of green LEDs is multiplied by the number of red or blue LEDs. In this way, the number of LEDs can be made different for each color. This makes it easier to adjust the chromaticity. It is also possible to reduce differences between colors.

[0222] The light emitting diode is not limited to three colors. For example, By using light-emitting diodes, the chromaticity can be broadened. For example, red, blue, In addition to green, it is also possible to add a color close to green to make it a four-color configuration.

[0223] In addition to red, blue, and green light emitting diodes, white light emitting diodes can also be used. By using white LEDs, it is possible to extend the life of the LEDs. Alternatively, by using white light-emitting diodes, color change due to temperature can be reduced. It becomes possible to do so.

[0224] Note that only white light-emitting diodes are used; red, blue, green, and other non-white light-emitting diodes are not used. It is possible to use only white to prevent colors from mixing. Or, by using only white, color shifts due to deterioration can be prevented. It is possible to reduce the above.

[0225] The horizontal pitch 1007 of the point light sources 1002 is 1:1 the vertical pitch of the point light sources 1002. 006. However, the embodiment is not limited to these. do not have.

[0226] It is preferable that the number of regions in the horizontal direction is greater than the number of regions in the vertical direction. For example, in FIG. 13(A), the number of vertical regions is 3 and the number of horizontal regions is The number is 9.

[0227] Note that the number of areas in a screen may be less than the number of LEDs of a given color. In other words, it is preferable to have multiple point light sources for one color in one area. It is desirable to select a single color for a point light source arranged in one area. It is preferable that the luminance of the plurality of point light sources is controlled to be the same at the same time. In other words, it is preferable to control the luminance for each color in one region. For example, In one area, if there are three red LEDs, three LEDs When increasing the brightness, increase the brightness of all three, and when decreasing the brightness, decrease the brightness of all three. However, the characteristics of light-emitting diodes and the like vary. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve the same brightness. It is desirable to have the same brightness for all the LEDs. For example, there is a 30% variation. It is desirable to emit light with the same brightness. In this way, multiple point light sources are placed in one area. By doing so, it is possible to reduce unevenness in brightness. Or, it is possible to reduce deterioration of the point light source. However, the embodiment is not limited to the above.

[0228] FIG. 13(B) shows an example of a part of the cross section of FIG. 13(A). A diffusion plate 1011 is provided. The diffusion plate 1011 reduces unevenness in brightness. The plate 1011 is supported by a spacer 1005 so that it does not sag even at the center of the screen. It is being done.

[0229] A display panel 1012 is disposed on the diffusion plate 1011. The display panel may be, for example, , pixels, driving circuits, liquid crystal elements, glass substrates, thin film transistors, polarizing plates, retardation plates, color The display panel 1012 and the backlight 1014 are provided with a prism sheet and / or a filter. By operating in conjunction with the light, it is possible to realize an appropriate display.

[0230] The diffusion plate 1011 has a function of diffusing light while transmitting the light. Therefore, it is preferable that the light diffusing layer has a high transmittance while having a function of diffusing light. The transmittance of the plate 1011 is preferably higher than that of the threshold 1003. The high transmittance of the diffuser 1011 allows the light reflected by the threshold 1003 to pass through the diffuser 1011. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the leakage of light to other areas while This allows light to be emitted more easily onto the screen, making it possible to precisely control the brightness of each area. This allows for proper local dimming. Examples of the above are not limited to the above.

[0231] Note that the height 1014 of the threshold 1003 is higher than the height 1013 of the point light source 1002. In order to prevent the light emitted from the point light source 1002 from leaking to another area, It is desirable that the height 1014 of the threshold 1003 is higher. However, in one embodiment, , but not limited to these.

[0232] The distance 1015 between the threshold 1003 and the diffusion plate 1011 is 10 times the height of the threshold 1003. It is preferable that the distance 1015 is shorter than 14. If the distance 1015 is long, too much light will leak. Therefore, it is preferable that the spacing 1015 be less than the height 1014 of the threshold 1003 . However, the embodiment is not limited to these examples.

[0233] The distance 1015 between the threshold 1003 and the diffusion plate 1011 is 10 mm, which is the height 10 mm of the point light source 1002. If the interval 1015 is too small, the boundaries of the regions may be too sharp. If the screen is too narrow, the borders may be visible on the screen. In order to make the boundary of the area invisible, the surface must be long enough to allow some light to leak through. Therefore, the threshold 1003 is made longer than the height 1013 of the point light source 1002. This allows an appropriate amount of light to leak out. However, the present invention is not limited to the above.

[0234] The height 1014 of the threshold 1003 and the height of the threshold 1004 are approximately equal. "Approximately equal" means that there is some difference, including manufacturing errors and variations. This refers to cases where the differences are equal, assuming that there are cases where the differences are within about 10%. By making the heights of the thresholds approximately equal, Since the amount of light leakage is uniform, it is possible to reduce uneven brightness. Examples of the aspect are not limited to these.

[0235] In FIG. 13, a point light source is arranged in each region, but the embodiment is not limited to this. It is also possible to place a small surface light source in each area. An example of a light source arrangement is shown below. When using a surface light source, the same procedure is used as when using a point light source. Therefore, it is possible to configure the contents (or a part of them) described in FIG. 14.

[0236] In FIG. 14A, a surface light source 1102 is disposed in each region. This can be accomplished using a variety of configurations.

[0237] In FIG. 14A, the threshold 1003 and the threshold 1004 are not provided. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. It is also possible to arrange only those that are arranged in the direction of the threshold 10. It is also possible to place only those elements that are arranged vertically, such as 04. Alternatively, both thresholds may be provided.

[0238] It is also possible to provide a spacer 1005. However, in this embodiment, The spacer 1005 may be omitted. It has a function of preventing the sheet placed on the light source 1102 from bending. However, in the case of a surface light source, the area in which a cavity is formed within the region is small, so the spacer 100 It is possible not to set 5.

[0239] The horizontal pitch of the surface light source 1102 is shorter than the vertical pitch of the surface light source 1102. However, the embodiment is not limited to this.

[0240] It is preferable that the height of the threshold is higher than the height of the surface light source 1102. In order to prevent the light emitted from 1102 from leaking to another area, the height of the threshold must be higher. However, the embodiment is not limited to the above.

[0241] Furthermore, when a diffusion plate is provided on the surface light source 1102, the distance between the threshold and the diffusion plate is set to 1 / 100 mm. It is preferable that the spacing is longer than the height of 102. If the spacing is too small, the boundaries of the regions will be too sharp. If the screen is too narrow, the borders may be visible on the screen. In order to make the boundary of the area invisible, the surface must be long enough to allow some light to leak through. Therefore, by making the threshold longer than the height of the surface light source 1102, an appropriate amount of light can be obtained. It is possible to allow light to leak. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. .

[0242] Next, as an example of the surface light source 1102, a light guide plate and a linear light source (or a group of point light sources) are FIG. 14(B) shows a cross-sectional view of a small surface light source. The cross-sectional view of a surface light source is shown in FIG. 11. Light is incident from a line light source 1103 to a light guide plate 1104. Inside the plate 1104, the light is repeatedly totally reflected and propagated. The bottom surface 1105 of the light guide plate 1104 is processed. Thus, a surface light source is realized.

[0243] As an example of the processing of the bottom surface 1105, a case where unevenness is formed in a prism shape is used. Or, in the case of ink being printed, etc. These density or shape, etc. can be controlled. This makes it possible to realize a uniform surface light source.

[0244] In addition, when a surface light source as shown in FIG. 14A is used, a diffusion plate 101 is provided on the surface light source. 1 can be provided. This makes it possible to reduce uneven brightness. However, when the surface light source 1102 is used, unlike the case of a point light source, the area is already to some extent Since the brightness is uniformed by the diffuser 1011, it is possible not to provide the diffuser plate 1011.

[0245] As another example of the surface light source 1102, a flat fluorescent tube (flat cathode ray tube) can be used. .

[0246] Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14(C), the fluorescent tube (cathode tube) 1106 is bent and arranged in the area, and the flat It is also possible to realize a surface light source by making it similar to a surface fluorescent tube (flat cathode ray tube). In this case, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 14(D), the periphery of the fluorescent tube (cathode tube) 1106, especially the upper side It is also possible to provide a diffusion plate 1107 to approximate a uniform surface light source. However, the embodiment is not limited to these examples.

[0247] (Embodiment 6) Next, another example of the configuration of the display device and a method of driving the same will be described. In the case of a display device using a display element having a slow luminance response (long response time) to signal writing, In this embodiment, a liquid crystal display device is used as a display device with a long response time. However, the display element in this embodiment is not limited to this, and may be a signal writing element. Various display elements that have a slow response of brightness to crowding can be used.

[0248] In the case of a general liquid crystal display device, the response of brightness to signal writing is slow, and the signal current is not applied to the liquid crystal element. Even when pressure is applied continuously, it may take more than one frame period for the response to complete. Even if moving images are displayed on such a display device, they cannot be reproduced faithfully. Furthermore, in the case of active matrix driving, the time required to write a signal to one liquid crystal element is Usually, the signal writing period (one frame period or one subframe period) is divided by the number of scanning lines. The time it takes for the liquid crystal element to respond is only one scan line selection period. Therefore, most of the response of the liquid crystal element occurs during the period when no signal is written. Here, the dielectric constant of the liquid crystal element changes according to the transmittance of the liquid crystal element. However, the fact that the liquid crystal element responds during the period when no signal is written means that The dielectric constant of the liquid crystal element changes when no charge is exchanged with the outside (constant charge state). In other words, in the equation (charge) = (capacity) · (voltage), the charge is in a constant state. Since the capacitance changes depending on the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element changes according to the response of the liquid crystal element. Therefore, the voltage at the time of signal writing changes. When driving a liquid crystal element with a slow luminance response using an active matrix, In principle, the voltage cannot reach the voltage at the time of signal writing.

[0249] The display device of the present embodiment is configured to make the display element respond to a desired luminance within a signal writing period. In order to achieve this, the signal level at the time of signal writing is pre-compensated (compensation signal). Furthermore, the response time of the liquid crystal element increases as the signal level increases. The larger the response time, the shorter the response time of the liquid crystal element. This driving method of adding a correction signal is also called overdrive. In the overdrive of the present embodiment, the signal writing period is input to the display device. Even if the signal writing period is shorter than the period of the image signal (input image signal period Tin), By correcting the signal level according to the period, the display element can be made to have the desired brightness within the signal writing period. When the signal writing period is shorter than the input image signal period Tin, For example, an original image is divided into multiple sub-images, and the multiple sub-images are arranged in a single frame. For example, the images may be displayed sequentially within a certain period of time.

[0250] Next, a method for correcting a signal level when writing a signal in an active matrix display device is described. An example of the method will be described with reference to Figures 15(A) and (B). The horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is the signal level at the time of signal writing. FIG. 15(B) is a graph showing a schematic representation of the change in luminance of the signal level over time when the image is being loaded. The horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is the display level, and the change in the display level of one display element over time. In addition, when the display element is a liquid crystal element, the signal The signal level can be expressed as the voltage, and the display level can be expressed as the transmittance of the liquid crystal element. The vertical axis of FIG. 15(A) is the voltage, and the vertical axis of FIG. 15(B) is the transmittance. In the embodiment, the overdrive is performed when the signal level is other than the voltage (duty ratio, current, etc. In the present embodiment, the overdrive is also applicable when the display level is transparent. This also includes cases other than transmittance (brightness, current, etc.). Normally black type (e.g. VA mode, IPS mode, etc.) and normally black type (e.g. 0V, 100V, 200V, 500V, 1000V, 1000V, 20 ...2000V, 2000V, 2000V, 2000V, There are normally white types (e.g. TN mode, OCB mode, etc.) that sometimes display white. However, the graph shown in Figure 15(B) corresponds to both, and in the case of normally black type The transmittance increases toward the top of the graph. The transmittance may be increased toward the bottom of the plate. The liquid crystal mode may be a normally black type or a normally white type. The timing of signal writing is indicated by a dotted line on the time axis. The period until the next signal writing is performed is called a retention period Fi. In, i is an integer that represents the index of each retention period. In 15(A) and (B), i is shown as 0 to 2, but i is not limited thereto. Other integers are also possible (integers other than 0 to 2 are not shown). The transmittance that realizes the brightness corresponding to the image signal is Ti, and the transmittance Ti The voltage that gives the above is Vi. The dashed line 5101 in FIG. 15(A) indicates the overdrive The solid line 5102 represents the time change in the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element when the liquid crystal display device is not operated. This shows the time change in voltage applied to the liquid crystal element when overdriving in the above mode. Similarly, the dashed line 5103 in FIG. 15B represents the liquid crystal display without overdrive. The solid line 5104 represents the time change in the transmittance of the element, and the solid line 5105 represents the time change in the transmittance of the element. This shows the time change in the transmittance of the liquid crystal element when the hold period Fi is The difference between the desired transmittance Ti and the actual transmittance in is represented as an error αi.

[0251] In the graph shown in FIG. 15A, during the retention period F0, the dashed line 5101 and the solid line 510 The desired voltage V0 is applied to both of them, and the dashed line in the graph shown in FIG. It is assumed that the desired transmittance T0 is obtained for both 5103 and solid line 5104. If overdrive is not performed, as shown by the dashed line 5101, The desired voltage V1 is applied to the liquid crystal element during the period in which the signal is written, as described above. is extremely short compared to the retention period, and most of the retention period is in a constant charge state, During the hold period, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element changes along with the change in transmittance. At the end of F1, the voltage becomes significantly different from the desired voltage V1. The dashed line 5103 in the graph shown in FIG. 15(B) also differs greatly from the desired transmittance T1. As a result, it is not possible to display the image faithfully to the image signal, and the image quality deteriorates. On the other hand, when the overdrive of this embodiment is performed, the solid line 510 As shown in FIG. 2, at the beginning of the hold period F1, a voltage V1′ that is larger than the desired voltage V1 is applied. In other words, the liquid crystal element is gradually charged during the hold period F1. In anticipation of this change in voltage, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element at the end of the hold period F1 is At the beginning of the hold period F1, the desired voltage V1 is set so that the voltage V1 is close to the desired voltage V1. By applying the corrected voltage V1' to the liquid crystal element, the desired voltage V1 can be accurately applied to the liquid crystal element. In this case, the solid line 5104 in the graph shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the desired transmittance T1 is obtained at the end of the holding period F1. Although the charge state is constant for most of the duration, Next, during the hold period F2, the desired voltage V2 is set higher than V1. In this case, as in the case of the retention period F1, In anticipation of the gradual change in the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element, at the end of the hold period F2, At the beginning of the hold period F2, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element is set to a voltage close to the desired voltage V2. In this case, a voltage F2' corrected from the desired voltage V2 is applied to the liquid crystal element. As shown by the solid line 5104 in the graph of FIG. 15(B), at the end of the retention period F2, The desired transmittance T2 is obtained at the tail. Note that, as in the holding period F1, Vi is Vi-1 If the voltage V is greater than the desired voltage V, the corrected voltage V' will be greater than the desired voltage V. Furthermore, as in the retention period F2, when Vi is compared with Vi-1, If the voltage Vi' is smaller than the desired voltage Vi, the corrected voltage Vi' is corrected to be smaller than the desired voltage Vi. It is preferable that the specific correction value is determined by calculating the response characteristic of the liquid crystal element in advance. The method of implementing it in the device is to formulate a correction formula and The correction values ​​are stored in memory as a look-up table. , a method of reading out a correction value as necessary, etc. can be used.

[0252] When the overdrive in this embodiment is actually realized as a device, There are various constraints. For example, voltage compensation must be performed within the rated voltage range of the source driver. That is, the desired voltage must be large to begin with, and the ideal correction voltage must be If the voltage exceeds the rated voltage of the source driver, the correction cannot be performed. The problems that arise in such a case will be described with reference to Figs. 15(C) and (D). C) is the same as in FIG. 15(A), with the horizontal axis being time and the vertical axis being voltage, and the FIG. 15(D) is a graph showing a schematic diagram of the change in voltage over time as a solid line 5105. As in FIG. 15B, the horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is transmittance. This is a graph in which the change in transmittance over time is shown as a solid line 5106. The notation method is the same as that in Figures 15(A) and (B), so the explanation will be omitted. (C) and (D) are correction voltages for achieving a desired transmittance T1 during the hold period F1. Since the voltage V1' exceeds the rated voltage of the source driver, V1' = V1 must be set. This indicates that the correction is insufficient. The transmittance obtained by the measurement is a value that differs from the desired transmittance T1 by an error α1. Since α1 is large only when the desired voltage is originally large, the error α1 In many cases, the degradation of image quality caused by the occurrence of the error α1 is within the acceptable range. As the voltage becomes larger, the error in the voltage correction algorithm also becomes larger. In the voltage correction algorithm, it is assumed that the desired transmittance is obtained at the end of the hold period. When the error α1 is set, the error α1 is actually large, but the error α1 is small. Since the voltage is corrected as As a result, the error α2 also becomes larger. Furthermore, if the error α2 becomes larger, The next error, α3, becomes even larger, and so on, causing the error to grow in a chain reaction. As a result, the image quality is significantly degraded. In drives, in order to prevent errors from increasing in a chain reaction like this, , When the correction voltage Vi' exceeds the rated voltage of the source driver during the hold period Fi, Estimate the error αi at the end of the period Fi, and consider the magnitude of the error αi to determine the holding period. The correction voltage at Fi+1 can be adjusted. This will reduce the error αi. However, the effect of this on the error αi+1 can be minimized, so the error does not cascade. In the overdrive of the present embodiment, An example of minimizing the error α2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15(E) and 15(F). The graph shown in FIG. 15(E) is a further example of the correction voltage V2' shown in the graph shown in FIG. 15(C). The time change of the voltage when the correction voltage is V2'' is shown as a solid line 5107. The graph shown in FIG. 15(F) is obtained by correcting the voltage according to the graph shown in FIG. 15(E). The solid line 51 in the graph shown in FIG. In 06, over-correction occurs due to the correction voltage V2', but as shown in the graph in FIG. In the solid line 5108 in Fig. 1, the correction voltage V2´´ is adjusted taking into account the error α1. Overcorrection is suppressed and the error α2 is minimized. The specific correction value is subject to change without notice. This can be derived by measuring the response characteristics of the liquid crystal element. The method is to formulate the correction formula and incorporate it into the logic circuit, or to use the correction value as a lookup table. The correction values ​​can be read out as necessary, for example. And these methods are added separately from the part that calculates the correction voltage Vi', or It can be incorporated into the part that calculates the positive voltage Vi'. Note that the error αi-1 is taken into account when making the calculation. The correction amount of the adjusted correction voltage Vi'' (the difference from the desired voltage Vi) is less than the correction amount of Vi'. It is preferable to set the value to be small. In other words, |Vi´´-Vi|<|Vi´-Vi| It is preferable that

[0253] In addition, the error αi The shorter the signal writing period, the larger the The response time of the element must also be shortened, which requires a larger compensation voltage. Furthermore, the required correction voltage becomes larger, and as a result, the correction voltage is The frequency with which the rated voltage of the inverter is exceeded also increases, and the frequency with which a large error αi occurs also increases. Therefore, the overdrive in this embodiment is effective when the signal write period is short. Specifically, we divide an original image into multiple sub-images and When the plurality of sub-images are displayed in sequence within one frame period, the image is A motion of the plurality of images is detected, and an intermediate image of the plurality of images is generated. When inserting and driving (so-called motion compensation double speed drive), or when combining these When the driving method such as the above is performed, the overdrive of this embodiment is used. That will have a tremendous effect.

[0254] In addition to the upper limit, the rated voltage of the source driver also has a lower limit. In this case, the voltage applied cannot be smaller than 0. Similarly, the ideal correction voltage cannot be applied, so the error αi becomes large. However, even in this case, as in the above-mentioned method, The error αi is estimated, and the correction value in the holding period Fi+1 is calculated by taking into account the magnitude of the error αi. The voltage can be adjusted. Note that the rated voltage of the source driver is set to a value less than 0. If it is possible to apply a large voltage (negative voltage), a negative voltage can be applied to the liquid crystal element as a correction voltage. In this way, the holding period Fi can be set to a value that takes into account the potential fluctuation due to the constant charge state. At the end of the period, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element can be adjusted to be close to the desired voltage Vi. do.

[0255] In order to prevent deterioration of the liquid crystal element, the polarity of the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element is periodically reversed. In other words, a so-called inversion drive can be implemented in combination with an overdrive. That is, the overdrive in this embodiment includes a case where it is performed simultaneously with the inversion drive. For example, when the signal writing period is half the input image signal period Tin, the polarity is inverted. When the period for writing the positive polarity signal and the period Tin of the input image signal are approximately the same, The writing of the positive signal is alternated every two times. By making the period of charge and discharge longer than the signal writing period, the frequency of charging and discharging the pixels can be reduced. This reduces power consumption. However, if the polarity reversal period is too long, the polarity difference The difference in brightness caused by the polarity of the input signal may be perceived as flicker. It is preferable that the period for which the signal is applied is equal to or shorter than the input image signal period Tin.

[0256] (Embodiment 7) Next, another example of the configuration of the display device and a method of driving the same will be described. In this case, an image that interpolates the movement of an image (input image) input from outside the display device is generated by multiple A display device generates an image based on an input image, and compares the generated image with the input image. The method of displaying the generated image by sequentially adding the motion of the input image will be described. By making the image appear to move in a certain direction, the movement of the video can be made smoother. This improves the problem of image retention and other issues that cause video quality to decrease due to video compensation. The display of moving images ideally requires changing the brightness of each pixel in real time. This is achieved by controlling the pixels in real time, but the real-time individual control of the pixels is The number of paths becomes huge, the wiring space becomes an issue, and the amount of input image data becomes huge. Therefore, it is difficult to realize the display of moving images on a display device. The display is made to look like a moving image by displaying multiple still images in sequence at a regular interval. This period (in this embodiment, it is called the input image signal period and is represented as Tin) For example, the NTSC standard is 1 / 60 seconds, and the PAL standard is 1 / 50 seconds. Even with this period, the impulse-type display device CRT cannot display moving images. No problems occurred with the display. However, hold-type display devices do not comply with these standards. If a video that conforms to this standard is displayed as is, the display may be blurred due to afterimages caused by the fact that the display is of the hold type. This causes a problem called hold blur. The blur is caused by the mismatch between the human eye's involuntary movement compensation and the hold-type display ( Since it is recognized by the input image signal, it is possible to obtain a higher quality image than the conventional standard. This can be reduced by shortening the period (approaching real-time individual control of pixels). However, shortening the input image signal period will require changes to the standards and will also increase the amount of data. However, based on a standardized input image signal, An image that interpolates the movement of the input image is generated inside the display device, and the input image is reproduced by the generated image. By interpolating and displaying the output image, the hold point can be displayed without changing the standard or increasing the amount of data. In this way, the image signal is generated inside the display device based on the input image signal. Interpolating the motion of the input image is called video interpolation.

[0257] The moving image interpolation method according to the present embodiment can reduce the blurring of the moving image. The moving image interpolation method in the embodiment can be divided into an image generation method and an image display method. And for certain patterns of movement, different image generation methods and / or image display methods are used. By using this method, motion blur can be effectively reduced. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a moving image interpolation method according to the present embodiment. In Fig. 16(A) and (B), the horizontal axis represents time, and The part marked "Input" indicates the timing at which each image is handled. This represents the timing at which two images are input. The image 5121 and the image 5122 are focused on. The input images are input at intervals of a period Tin. The length of one period Tin is referred to as one frame or one frame period. The part marked "Generation" indicates the timing at which a new image is generated from the input image signal. Here, the generated image is based on the image 5121 and the image 5122. The part marked "display" indicates that the image is displayed on the display device. This shows the timing when the image is displayed. Although it is only indicated by a dashed line, by treating it in the same way as the image of interest, An example of a method for interpolating moving images in this form can be realized.

[0258] In the present embodiment, an example of a method for interpolating a moving image is shown in FIG. A generated image is generated based on two adjacent input images. The two input images are displayed. By displaying the video in the gap between the two, it is possible to interpolate the video. It is preferable that the display period of the display image is half the input period of the input image. However, the display period is not limited to this, and various display periods can be used. For example, the display period is set to the input period By setting the display cycle shorter than half, the video will be displayed more smoothly. By making it longer than half the period, power consumption can be reduced. An image is generated based on two adjacent input images, but the number of input images is limited to two. For example, three (or more) time-adjacent If you generate an image based on an input image (good), it will be easier to generate an image than if you generate an image based on two input images. It is possible to obtain a generated image with high accuracy. The same time as the input timing of 5122, that is, the display timing relative to the input timing Although it is delayed by one frame, the display timing in the video interpolation method in this embodiment is The timing is not limited to this, and various display timings can be used. For example, You can delay the display timing by one or more frames. Then, the display timing of the generated image, image 5123, can be delayed, so image 5 This allows for more time for the generation of 123, which reduces power consumption and manufacturing costs. If the display timing is too delayed with respect to the input timing, This increases the time required to store the force image, and increases the memory capacity required for storage. The display timing relative to the input timing should preferably be delayed by one to two frames. I wish.

[0259] Here, the specific image 5123 generated based on the image 5121 and the image 5122 is In order to interpolate a moving image, the motion of the input image is detected. However, in this embodiment, a block map is used to detect the motion of the input image. However, there are various methods that can be used without being limited to this. (Methods such as taking the difference between image data and using Fourier transform) can be used. In the block matching method, first, the image data of one input image (here, the image 5121) to a data storage means (semiconductor memory, RAM or other storage circuit, etc.) Then, the image in the next frame (image 5122 in this example) is stored in memory. The divided regions are all rectangular in shape, as shown in FIG. It can be, but is not limited to, various things (shape or size can be changed depending on the image) Then, for each divided area, the data stored in the data storage means can be The data is compared with the image data of the previous frame (here, the image data of image 5121). In the example of FIG. 16(A), the image 5122 has similar image data. A region similar in data to the region 5124 in the image 5121 is searched for, and the region 512 6 is assumed to have been searched. Note that when searching within image 5121, the search range is limited. In the example of FIG. 16(A), the search range is preferably set to an area 5124. The area 5125 is set to be about four times the area of ​​the By making it larger, the detection accuracy can be improved even in fast-moving videos. However, if the search is too broad, the search time will be enormous, and the actual detection of the movement will be hindered. Therefore, the area of ​​the region 5125 is set to about 2 to 6 times the area of ​​the region 5124. Then, the searched region 5126 and the region in the image 5122 are The difference in position from 5124 is calculated as a motion vector 5127. represents the movement of image data in the region 5124 during one frame period. To generate an image that represents an intermediate state of motion, the motion vectors are scaled while keeping their orientation unchanged. A vector 5128 for generating an image is created by adding the vector 5128 to the region 5126 in the image 5121. The image data is moved according to the image generation vector 5128 to generate the image 5123. This series of processing is called image 5122. By performing the above process for all the regions in the image 5123, the image 5123 is generated. 21, image 5123, and image 5122 can be displayed in sequence to create an interpolated video. Note that the object 5130 in the image is in a different position in the image 5121 and the image 5122. The generated image 5123 is different from the image 5121 and the image The image is the midpoint of the object at 5122. By displaying such an image, This makes it possible to make movements smoother and improves blurring of moving images caused by afterimages, etc.

[0260] The size of the image generation vector 5128 is determined according to the display timing of the image 5123. In the example of FIG. 16A, the display timing of the image 5123 can be determined. is set to the midpoint (1 / 2) of the display timing of image 5121 and image 5122. The size of the image generation vector 5128 is half that of the motion vector 5127. For example, if the display timing is 1 / 3, the size is set to 1 / 3 and the display time is set to 1 / 3. If the timing is 2 / 3, the size can be set to 2 / 3.

[0261] In this way, multiple regions with various motion vectors are moved to create a new image. When creating an image, the area to be moved may contain overlapping areas, or it may be possible to move the area to another area. There may be some blank areas that are not moved from the area. As a method for correcting the overlapping portion, for example, Priority is assigned based on the average, the direction of the motion vector, etc., and the data with the highest priority is selected for display. A method to use the data in the image, with color (or brightness) taking priority, but brightness (or The color) can be averaged, etc. The blank area can be corrected by using the method shown in Image 5. 121 or image 5122 at the corresponding position is used as is to generate the image data A method of calculating the average of image data at the corresponding position of the image 5121 or the image 5122. Then, the generated image 5123 is converted into an image generation vector. By displaying the image at a timing that matches the size of the Tor 5128, the movement of the video becomes smoother. Furthermore, the problem of image retention caused by hold drive can be solved. It can be improved.

[0262] Another example of the moving image interpolation method according to the present embodiment is a time-domain interpolation method as shown in FIG. A generated image is generated based on two input images that are adjacent to each other. When displaying the images in the gaps between the displayed images, each image is further divided into multiple sub-images. By dividing the image into several parts and displaying them, it is possible to perform video interpolation. In addition to the benefits of shorter time, dark images are periodically displayed (the display method is This also provides the advantage of the image display period being closer to the image input period. This reduces blurring of the video due to afterimages, etc., compared to when the length is only half that of the power cycle. In the example of FIG. 16(B), the “input” and “generation” can be further improved by the The same processing as in the example of FIG. 6(A) can be performed, so the explanation will be omitted. In the "display" step, one input image or / and generated image is divided into multiple sub-images. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16B, the image 5121 can be displayed. By dividing the image into two sub-images 5121a and 5121b and displaying them sequentially, the human eye perceives the image as image 5 121 is displayed, and the image 5123 is displayed as sub-images 5123a and 5123 b and display them sequentially, the human eye perceives the image as if it were image 5123. By dividing the image 5122 into sub-images 5122a and 5122b and displaying them in sequence, 5122 is perceived by the human eye as being displayed. The image displayed is the same as that shown in FIG. 16(A), but the display method is impulse type. Since the image can be moved closer to the screen, blurred video images caused by afterimages can be further improved. The number of divisions of the image is two in FIG. 16B, but is not limited to this and may be various. The number of divisions can be used. The timing at which the sub-image is displayed is as shown in FIG. In this example, the display intervals are equal (1 / 2), but this is not limited to this and various display timings can be used. For example, the display of the dark sub-images (5121b, 5122b, 5123b) By speeding up the display timing (specifically, from 1 / 4 to 1 / 2), the display method This makes the method closer to the impulse type, which reduces blurring of moving images caused by afterimages, etc. Or, the timing of displaying the dark sub-image can be delayed (specifically, 1 / 2 By switching the display to 3 / 4 of the time, the period during which bright images are displayed can be extended. The display efficiency can be improved and power consumption can be reduced.

[0263] Another example of the moving image interpolation method according to the present embodiment is to detect the shape of an object moving in an image. In this example, different processing is performed depending on the shape of the moving object. , ... This refers to moving text (also called scrolling text, subtitles, telop, etc.). In addition, the "input" and "generation" may be the same as those in FIG. 16(B), The blurring of moving images during hold driving is caused by the nature of the moving object. This is especially noticeable when the text is moving. This is because when reading moving text, your eyes will inevitably follow the text. In addition, characters need to have clear outlines. Since there are many of them, the blur caused by the hold blur may be further emphasized. That is, it determines whether an object moving in the image is a character or not, and if so, performs further special processing. This is effective for reducing hold blur. By performing contour detection and / or pattern detection on the object, it is determined that the object is a character. If so, motion interpolation is performed even for sub-images divided from the same image, and the motion is By displaying the intermediate state of the object, the movement can be made smoother. If it is determined that the sub-images are not the same, then the sub-images are divided into sub-images as shown in FIG. In the case of an image, the position of a moving object can be displayed without changing. Example of Figure 16(C) In the example, the area 5131 determined to be a character is moving upward. The position of the region 5131 is different between the image 5121a and the image 5121b. The same is true for image 123a and image 5123b, and image 5122a and image 5122b. This allows for a more accurate and more accurate image quality for moving characters, which are particularly susceptible to hold blurring. It can make the movement smoother than double-speed driving, so it can reduce blurring of moving images caused by afterimages, etc. The quality can be further improved.

[0264] (Embodiment 8) In this embodiment, a pixel configuration and pixel operation that can be applied to a liquid crystal display device will be described. In the present embodiment, the liquid crystal element is operated in a Twist (TN) mode. ed Nematic mode, IPS (In-Plane-Switching) mode FFS (Fringe Field Switching) mode, MVA (Multi-Voltage Amplification) mode ti-domain Vertical Alignment) mode, PVA(Pat terned Vertical Alignment) mode, ASM (Axiall y Symmetric aligned Micro-cell) mode, OCB(O (Fptically Compensated Birefringence) mode, LC (Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal) mode, AFLC (AntiFerroelectric Liquid Crystal) It is possible.

[0265] FIG. 17A is a diagram showing an example of a pixel configuration that can be applied to a liquid crystal display device. The pixel circuit 5080 includes a transistor 5081, a liquid crystal element 5082, and a capacitor element 5083. The gate of the transistor 5081 is electrically connected to the wiring 5085. The first terminal of the transistor 5081 is electrically connected to the wiring 5084. The first terminal of the liquid crystal element 5082 is electrically connected to the wiring. The first terminal of the capacitor 5083 is electrically connected to the first terminal of the liquid crystal element 5082. The second terminal of the capacitor 5083 is electrically connected to the wiring 5086. The first terminal of a transistor is either the source or the drain. The second terminal of the transistor is the other of the source and drain. If the first terminal of a transistor is the source, then the second terminal of the transistor is the drain. Similarly, if the first terminal of the transistor is the drain, then the second terminal of the transistor is the is the source.

[0266] The wiring 5084 can function as a signal line. The signal line is input from the outside of the pixel. The wiring 5085 is a wiring for transmitting the signal voltage to the pixel 5080. The scan line is used to control the on / off of the transistor 5081. The wiring 5086 can function as a capacitance line. This is a wiring for applying a predetermined voltage to the second terminal of the transistor 5083. The capacitor 5083 can function as a storage capacitor. The storage capacitor can store the signal voltage even when the switch is off. The wiring 5087 is a capacitor for continuously adding to the capacitor 082. The counter electrode can be used to apply a predetermined voltage to the second terminal of the liquid crystal element 5082. However, the functions that each wiring can have are not limited to these. For example, by changing the voltage applied to the capacitance line, The voltage applied to the liquid crystal element can also be adjusted. Since the transistor 5081 only needs to function as a P-channel type, the polarity of the transistor 5081 may be a P-channel type. Alternatively, it may be of an N-channel type.

[0267] FIG. 17B is a diagram showing an example of a pixel configuration that can be applied to a liquid crystal display device. 17A, the pixel configuration example shown in FIG. 17B is different from the pixel configuration example shown in FIG. 17A in that the wiring 5087 is omitted. The second terminal of the liquid crystal element 5082 and the second terminal of the capacitance element 5083 are electrically connected. The pixel configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. 17(A), except that the pixel is connected to the The pixel configuration example shown in FIG. 17(B) is particularly suitable for liquid crystal elements in a lateral electric field mode (IP This is applicable when the liquid crystal element is horizontally shifted (including S mode and FFS mode). In the field mode, the second terminal of the liquid crystal element 5082 and the second terminal of the capacitor element 5083 are Since they can be formed on the same substrate, the second terminal of the liquid crystal element 5082 and the capacitor element 5 This is because it is easy to electrically connect the second terminal of the junction box 083 to the second terminal of the junction box 083. By using the pixel configuration as shown in FIG. 1, the wiring 5087 can be omitted, and the manufacturing process can be simplified. This allows the manufacturing cost to be reduced.

[0268] The pixel configuration shown in FIG. 17(A) or FIG. 17(B) is arranged in a matrix. In this way, a display section of a liquid crystal display device is formed, and various images can be displayed. FIG. 17C shows a pixel arrangement in which a plurality of pixel configurations shown in FIG. 17A are arranged in a matrix. FIG. 17C is a diagram showing a circuit configuration in the case where the display unit has The figure shows four pixels extracted from the multiple pixels. The pixel located at the position (j is a natural number) is represented as pixel 5080_i,j. The wiring 5084_i, the wiring 5085_j, and the wiring 5086_j are electrically connected to Similarly, for the pixel 5080_i+1,j, a wiring 5084_i+1, a wiring 5085_j is electrically connected to the wiring 5086_j. For +1, wire 5084_i, wire 5085_j+1, wire 5086_j+1 and Similarly, for the pixel 5080_i+1, j+1, a wiring 5084_ i+1, a wiring 5085_j+1, and a wiring 5086_j+1. A wiring can be shared by multiple pixels in the same column or row. In the pixel configuration shown in FIG. 17(C), the wiring 5087 is a counter electrode. Since the elements are common, the notation for wiring 5087 using natural numbers i or j is In addition, in one example of the embodiment, the pixel configuration shown in FIG. Therefore, even if the wiring 5087 is shown in the configuration, the wiring 508 7 is not essential and can be omitted by being shared with other wiring, etc.

[0269] The pixel configuration shown in FIG. 17(C) can be driven in various ways. The liquid crystal display is driven by a method called flow driving, which prevents deterioration of the liquid crystal element (burn-in). FIG. 17(D) shows a case where dot inversion driving, which is one of the AC driving methods, is performed. The timing of voltages applied to each wiring in the pixel configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a chart in which AC driving is performed by performing dot inversion driving. This can suppress flicker that is visible in some cases.

[0270] In the pixel configuration shown in FIG. 17C, The switch in is in the selected state (on state) during the j-th gate selection period in one frame period. In the other period, it is in the non-selected state (off state). After the j+1 gate selection period, the j+1 gate selection period is provided. In this way, all pixels are selected in sequence within one frame period. In the timing chart, when the voltage is high (high level), the switching When the voltage is low, the switch is in the selected state. When the voltage is low, the switch is in the unselected state. Note that this is the case when the transistors in each pixel are N-channel type, not P-channel type. When a transistor with this type is used, the relationship between the voltage and the selection state is the opposite of that in the case of an N-channel type. It becomes.

[0271] In the timing chart shown in FIG. 17(D), the jth pulse in the kth frame (k is a natural number) During the gate selection period, a positive signal voltage is applied to the wiring 5084_i used as a signal line. A negative signal voltage is applied to the wiring 5084_i+1. In the j+1-th gate selection period, a negative signal voltage is applied to the wiring 5084_i, A positive signal voltage is applied to 084_i+1. After that, each signal line is In each selection period, a signal with the polarity inverted is added alternately. As a result, in the kth frame, A positive signal voltage is applied to the pixel 5080_i,j, and a negative signal voltage is applied to the pixel 5080_i+1,j. A negative signal voltage is applied to pixel 5080_i, j+1, and a positive signal voltage is applied to pixel 5080_i+1, j+1. In the k+1-th frame, the signal voltages are added as follows: In each pixel, a signal voltage of the opposite polarity to the signal voltage written in the kth frame is written. As a result, in the k+1th frame, the pixel 5080_i,j A negative signal voltage is applied to pixel 5080_i+1,j, a positive signal voltage is applied to pixel 5080_i,j A positive signal voltage is applied to pixel 5080_i+1,j+1, and a negative signal voltage is applied to pixel 5080_i+1,j+1. In this way, adjacent pixels in the same frame have different polarities. A signal voltage having a specific polarity is applied to each pixel, and a signal voltage The dot inversion driving method inverts the polarity of the liquid crystal. This is visible when the entire or part of the displayed image is uniform while suppressing deterioration of the element. Flicker can be reduced. The voltage applied to all the wirings 5086 including the wiring 5086 can be a constant voltage. The timing chart for the signal voltage of line 5084 only indicates the polarity. In this case, various signal voltage values ​​can be used for the displayed polarity. Although the polarity is inverted for each pixel, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the polarity of the signal voltage written every two gate selection periods can be reversed. By reversing the polarity, it is possible to reduce the power consumption required to write the signal voltage. In addition, the polarity can be inverted for each column (source line inversion) or for each row. It is also possible to invert the polarity (gate line inversion)

[0272] In addition, the second terminal of the capacitor 5083 in the pixel 5080 is A constant voltage is sufficient. Here, the voltage applied to the wiring 5085 used as the scanning line is The voltage applied is low for most of the frame period, and a nearly constant voltage is applied. Therefore, the second terminal of the capacitor element 5083 in the pixel 5080 is connected to the wiring 5 FIG. 17(E) is a diagram showing an example of a pixel configuration that can be applied to a liquid crystal display device. The pixel configuration shown in FIG. 17(E) has a wiring configuration different from that shown in FIG. 17(C). 5086 is omitted, and the second terminal of the capacitance element 5083 in the pixel 5080 and the The wiring 5085 in the row is electrically connected to the In the range shown in FIG. 17(E), the pixel 5080_i,j+1 and the pixel The second terminal of the capacitance element 5083 in 5080_i+1, j+1 is connected to the wiring 5085_j. In this manner, the second terminal of the capacitance element 5083 in the pixel 5080 and By electrically connecting the wiring 5085 in the previous row, the wiring 5086 is omitted. Since the second terminal of the capacitor 5083 can be connected to the The destination may be the wiring 5085 in another row, not just the wiring 5085 in the previous row. The driving method of the pixel configuration shown in FIG. 17(E) is the same as that of the pixel configuration shown in FIG. The same movement method can be used.

[0273] The capacitor 5083 and the wiring electrically connected to the second terminal of the capacitor 5083 are By using this, the voltage applied to the wiring 5084 used as a signal line can be reduced. The pixel configuration and driving method in this case will be described with reference to FIG. 17(F) and FIG. 17(G). The pixel configuration shown in FIG. 17(F) has a wiring 5 compared to the pixel configuration shown in FIG. 086 is provided for each pixel column, and the second The feature of this type is that the electrical connection to the terminals is made alternately between adjacent pixels. The wiring 5086 thus obtained will be referred to as wiring 5086-1 and wiring 5086-2, respectively. Specifically, in the range shown in FIG. A second terminal of the capacitor 5083 at j is electrically connected to the wiring 5086-1_j. The second terminal of the capacitance element 5083 in the pixel 5080_i+1,j is connected to the wiring 5086-2 j, and the second terminal of the capacitance element 5083 in the pixel 5080_i,j+1 is electrically connected to the wiring 5086-2_j+1, and A second terminal of the capacitor 5083 in the pixel 5081 is electrically connected to the wiring 5086-1_j+1.

[0274] For example, as shown in FIG. 17G, in the k-th frame, pixel 5080_i, When a positive signal voltage is written to j, the wiring 5086-1_j is the jth gate selection During the jth gate selection period, the signal is kept at a low level, and after the jth gate selection period ends, the signal is changed to a high level. Then, it maintains the high level for one frame period, and in the k+1th frame In the jth gate selection period, a signal voltage of negative polarity is written, and then the signal voltage is changed to a low level. In this way, after a signal voltage of positive polarity is written to the pixel, the second By changing the voltage of the wiring electrically connected to the terminal in the positive direction, This allows the voltage written to the pixel to be changed in the positive direction by a specified amount. This reduces the power consumption required for signal writing. In addition, when a signal voltage of negative polarity is written in the j-th gate selection period, After a signal voltage of negative polarity is written to the pixel, the second terminal of the capacitance element 5083 is electrically connected to the By changing the voltage of the wiring connected to the liquid crystal display in the negative direction, the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element is Since the voltage can be changed by a given amount in the negative direction, the pixel The signal voltage to be written can be made small. The electrically connected wiring is connected to the same row of the same frame when a positive polarity signal voltage is applied. The pixels to which a positive polarity signal voltage is applied have different wiring. FIG. 17(F) shows a case where a signal voltage of positive polarity is written in the k-th frame. A wiring 5086-1 is electrically connected to the pixel, and a signal voltage of negative polarity is applied in the k-th frame. In this example, the wiring 5086-2 is electrically connected to the pixel to which the voltage is written. This is just one example. For example, a pixel to which a signal voltage of a positive polarity is written and a pixel to which a signal voltage of a negative polarity is written In the case of a driving method in which pixels to which light is written appear every two pixels, the wiring 5086-1 and Accordingly, it is preferable that the electrical connection of the wiring 5086-2 is performed alternately every two pixels. Furthermore, it is preferable that the signal voltage of the same polarity is written to all pixels in one row (gate A line inversion may be possible, but in that case, one wiring 5086 may be sufficient per row. That is, even in the pixel configuration shown in FIG. 17(C), the same can be achieved by using FIG. 17(F) and FIG. 17(G). As described above, a driving method for reducing the signal voltage written to the pixel can be used. .

[0275] Next, the liquid crystal element is a vertical alignment (VA) type, typically represented by MVA mode or PVA mode. A pixel configuration and a driving method thereof that are particularly preferable in the VA mode will be described. This LCD has many advantages, such as no rubbing process required during manufacturing, little light leakage during black display, and low driving voltage. However, the image quality deteriorates when the screen is viewed at an angle (the viewing angle is narrow). In order to widen the viewing angle in the VA mode, the following problems are solved: As shown in (B), a pixel configuration having multiple sub-pixels in one pixel is used. In the pixel configuration shown in FIG. 18(A) and FIG. 18(B), the pixel 5080 is 5 shows an example of a case in which the subpixels are two (subpixel 5080-1 and subpixel 5080-2). The number of sub-pixels in one pixel is not limited to two, and various numbers of sub-pixels can be used. The larger the number of sub-pixels, the wider the viewing angle can be. The sub-pixels can have the same circuit configuration. In this case, all the sub-pixels are shown in FIG. The circuit configuration of the first subpixel 5080-1 is the same as that shown in FIG. A transistor 5081-1, a liquid crystal element 5082-1, and a capacitor element 5083-1 The connections of each are based on the circuit configuration shown in FIG. The second subpixel 5080-2 includes a transistor 5081-2, a liquid crystal element 5082-2, and a capacitor The circuit configuration shown in FIG. 17A is that the elements 5083-2 are included, and the connections of the elements 5083-2 are the same as those shown in FIG. shall be governed by the same.

[0276] The pixel configuration shown in FIG. 18(A) is used as a scanning line for two sub-pixels that make up one pixel. The two wirings 5085 (wiring 5085-1 and wiring 5085-2) are used as signal lines. The wiring 5084 is used as a capacitor line, and the wiring 5086 is used as a capacitor line. In this way, the signal line and the capacitance line are shared by two sub-pixels, Furthermore, the signal line driver circuit can be simplified. This reduces manufacturing costs and the number of connections between the liquid crystal panel and the driver IC. The pixel configuration shown in FIG. 18B is a pixel configuration in which two For each subpixel, there is one wiring 5085 used as a scanning line, and one wiring 5086 used as a signal line. The wiring 5084 is used as a capacitance line. In this way, the scanning line and the capacitance line are divided into two sub lines. By sharing the same area among pixels, the aperture ratio can be improved. This reduces the number of gate lines, so that the gate line selection period per gate line can be shortened sufficiently even in high-definition LCD panels. minutes, allowing appropriate signal voltages to be written to each pixel.

[0277] 18(C) and 18(D) show the pixel configuration shown in FIG. 18(B) in which the liquid crystal element is This is an example in which the electrical connection state of each element is represented diagrammatically in terms of the shape of a pixel electrode. In FIG. 18(C) and FIG. 18(D), the electrode 5088-1 represents the first pixel electrode, The electrode 5088-2 represents the second pixel electrode. The electrode 5088-1 corresponds to the first terminal of the liquid crystal element 5082-1 ​​in FIG. The second pixel electrode 5088-2 is connected to the first terminal of the liquid crystal element 5082-2 in FIG. That is, the first pixel electrode 5088-1 corresponds to the source of the transistor 5081-1. or one of the drains, and the second pixel electrode 5088-2 is electrically connected to the 5081-2 is electrically connected to either the source or drain of the transistor 5081-2. In the second embodiment, the connection relationship between the pixel electrodes and the transistors is reversed. 088-1 is electrically connected to one of the source and drain of the transistor 5081-2. The second pixel electrode 5088-2 is connected to the source or drain of the transistor 5081-1. It is assumed that the terminal is electrically connected to one of the terminals.

[0278] The pixel configurations shown in FIG. 18(C) and FIG. 18(D) are arranged alternately in a matrix. By doing so, a special effect can be obtained. An example is shown in FIG. 18(E) and FIG. 18(F). The pixel configuration shown in FIG. The part corresponding to pixel 5080_i,j and pixel 5080_i+1,j+1 is shown in FIG. The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a pixel 5080_i+1,j and a pixel 5080_i,j+1. In this configuration, the part shown in FIG. When driven as shown in the timing chart, during the jth gate selection period of the kth frame, The first pixel electrode of the pixel 5080_i,j and the second pixel electrode of the pixel 5080_i+1,j A signal voltage of positive polarity is written, and the second pixel electrode of the pixel 5080_i,j and the pixel A signal voltage of negative polarity is written to the first pixel electrode of 80_i+1,j. In the j+1-th gate selection period of the frame, the second pixel electrode and A positive signal voltage is written to the first pixel electrode of the pixel 5080_i+1,j+1. The first pixel electrode of the pixel 5080_i,j+1 and the second pixel electrode of the pixel 5080_i+1,j+1 A signal voltage of negative polarity is written to the pixel electrode. In the (k+1)th frame, In this way, the polarity of the signal voltage is inverted in the pixel configuration including the sub-pixel. This realizes a drive equivalent to dot inversion drive, while changing the polarity of the voltage applied to the signal line by one frame. Therefore, the time required for writing the signal voltage to the pixel can be made the same during the period of the program. It is possible to significantly reduce the power consumption. The voltage applied to all wirings 5086 including 1 can be a constant voltage.

[0279] Furthermore, by using the pixel configuration and the driving method thereof shown in FIG. 18(G) and FIG. 18(H), The magnitude of the signal voltage written to the pixel can be reduced. The capacitance lines electrically connected to the sub-pixels of the pixel are different for each sub-pixel. That is, the pixel configuration and the driving method thereof shown in FIG. 18(G) and FIG. 18(H) are used. Therefore, for sub-pixels to which the same polarity is written in the same frame, the capacitance Sub-pixels that share a common line and have different polarities written in the same frame are Then, when writing to each row is completed, The voltage of the positive polarity signal voltage is written to the subpixel in the positive direction, and the voltage of the negative polarity signal voltage is written to the In the subpixel where a signal voltage is written, the signal voltage written to the pixel is changed in the negative direction. Specifically, the wiring 5086 used as the capacitance line is arranged in each row. The first pixel of pixel 5080_i,j is connected to two lines (line 5086-1 and line 5086-2). The electrode and the wiring 5086-1_j are electrically connected through a capacitor. The second pixel electrode of pixel _i, j is electrically connected to the wiring 5086-2_j via a capacitance element. The first pixel electrode of the pixel 5080_i+1,j and the wiring 5086-2_j form a capacitive element. The second pixel electrode of the pixel 5080_i+1,j is electrically connected to the wiring 508 6-1_j is electrically connected to the first pixel 5080_i,j+1 via a capacitance element. The pixel electrode and the wiring 5086-2_j+1 are electrically connected via a capacitance element. The second pixel electrode 5080_i,j+1 and the wiring 5086-1_j+1 are connected via a capacitance element. The first pixel electrode of the pixel 5080_i+1,j+1 and the wiring 5086 are electrically connected to each other. -1_j+1 is electrically connected to the pixel 5080_i+1,j+1 via a capacitance element. The second pixel electrode and the wiring 5086-2_j+1 are electrically connected through a capacitance element. However, this is just an example. For example, if a pixel to which a signal voltage of positive polarity is written and a pixel to which a signal voltage of negative polarity is written are In the case of a driving method in which a pixel to which a signal voltage of the same polarity is written appears every two pixels, wiring 5 The electrical connections of the wiring 5086-1 and wiring 5086-2 are also made alternately every two pixels. Moreover, it is preferable that the signal voltage of the same polarity is written to all pixels in one row. In this case, the wiring 5086 is That is, even in the pixel configuration shown in FIG. 18(E), As explained with reference to FIG. 8(H), a driving method is used that reduces the signal voltage written to the pixel. It is possible.

[0280] (Embodiment 9) In this embodiment, an example of a display device will be described.

[0281] First, an example of a system block of a liquid crystal display device will be described with reference to FIG. The liquid crystal display device includes a circuit 5361, a circuit 5362, a circuit 5363_1, a circuit 5363_2, 2, a pixel portion 5364, a circuit 5365, and a lighting device 5366. In the example shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of wirings 5371 are arranged extending from a circuit 5362, and a plurality of wirings 5372 are arranged in a circuit. The circuit 5363_1 and the circuit 5363_2 are arranged to extend from each other. At the intersections of the line 5371 and the multiple wirings 5372, display elements such as liquid crystal elements are provided. Pixels 5367 corresponding to the pixel area are arranged in a matrix.

[0282] In response to a video signal 5360, a circuit 5361 is connected to a circuit 5362, a circuit 5363_1, a circuit 5364, a circuit 5365, a 363_2 and the circuit 5365, and has a function of supplying a signal, a voltage, a current, or the like to the controller, control circuit, timing generator, power supply circuit, regulator, etc. In this embodiment, as an example, the circuit 5361 can function as a 362 is a signal line driver circuit start signal (SSP), a signal line driver circuit clock signal ( SCK), inverted clock signal for signal line driver circuit (SCKB), data for video signal (DA TA), and a latch signal (LAT). Then, a start signal for the scanning line driver circuit (G SP), a clock signal for the scanning line driving circuit (GCK), and an inverted clock for the scanning line driving circuit Alternatively, the circuit 5361 may supply a signal (GCKB) to the circuit 5365. The BLC signal is provided by the circuit. 5361 also transmits various signals, various voltages, or various currents to a circuit 5362, a circuit It is possible to supply the signal to a circuit 5363_1, a circuit 5363_2, and a circuit 5365.

[0283] In addition, the circuit 5361 performs super-resolution processing, edge enhancement processing, frame interpolation processing, over Drive processing, local dimming processing, IP conversion processing, and / or enlargement processing, etc. It is possible to do so.

[0284] Note that local dimming processing and the like can be performed in the circuit 5365. Alternatively, in the circuit 5365, the backlight of each area in the local dimming process is It is possible to carry out a process to determine the brightness.

[0285] Note that various processes can be performed in the circuit 5361 or the circuit 5365. Therefore, the circuit 5361 or the circuit 5365 may be composed of many more circuits. That is, the circuit 5361 or the circuit 5365 can be configured with a plurality of circuits. In this case, the circuits included in the circuit 5361 or the circuit 5365 are It is possible to form the semiconductor device on a single IC chip. However, in one embodiment, It is possible to place the signal on multiple IC chips. The circuit 5361 or the circuit 5365 is configured using multiple IC chips.

[0286] In that case, the circuit 5362 receives the signal (e.g., SSP, SCK) provided from the circuit 5361. , SCKB, DATA, LAT) to output video signals to a plurality of wirings 5371. The circuit 5363_1 and the circuit 5363_2 have a function of driving a signal line. The circuit 5363_2 receives signals (GSP, GCK, GCKB) from the circuit 5361. In response to this, the semiconductor device has a function of outputting scan signals to a plurality of wirings 5372 and functions as a scan line driver circuit. The circuit 5365 receives a signal (BLC) from the circuit 5361. By controlling the amount or time of power supplied to the lighting device 5366 according to the It has a function of controlling the brightness (or average brightness) of the lighting device 5366 and functions as a power supply circuit. It is possible to do so.

[0287] When video signals are input to the multiple wirings 5371, the multiple wirings 5371 The wirings 53 can function as lines, video signal lines, source lines, or the like. When a scanning signal is input to 72, the multiple wirings 5372 are signal lines, scanning lines, or gate However, the embodiment is not limited to this. stomach.

[0288] Note that the same signal is input from the circuit 5361 to the circuits 5363_1 and 5363_2. In this case, the circuit 5363_1 outputs a scanning signal to a plurality of wirings 5372, and the circuit 5363 The timing of the scanning signals output from _2 to the multiple wirings 5372 is approximately the same. Therefore, the loads driven by the circuits 5363_1 and 5363_2 are often small. Therefore, the display device can be made larger. Alternatively, the circuit 5363_1 and the circuit 5363_2 may have a high resolution. Since the channel width of the transistor can be reduced, a display device with a narrow frame can be obtained. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The circuit 5361 can be implemented by a circuit 5363_1 and a circuit 536 It is possible to supply separate signals to 3_2 and 3_3.

[0289] Note that one of the circuit 5363_1 and the circuit 5363_2 can be omitted.

[0290] In addition, in the pixel portion 5364, wiring such as a capacitance line, a power supply line, and a scanning line can be newly arranged. It is possible. The circuit 5361 can output a signal or a voltage to these wirings. Alternatively, a circuit similar to the circuit 5363_1 or the circuit 5363_2 may be newly added. This newly added circuit outputs signals such as scanning signals to the newly added wiring. It is possible.

[0291] Note that the pixel 5367 can have a light-emitting element such as an EL element as a display element. In this case, since the display element can emit light as shown in FIG. 365 and the lighting device 5366 may be omitted. In order to supply power, a plurality of wirings 5373 capable of functioning as power supply lines are provided in the pixel portion 53 64. Circuit 5361 distributes a power supply voltage called voltage (ANO). The wiring 5373 is connected to each color element of the pixel. It is possible for one pixel to be connected to the other pixel, or it is possible for one pixel to be connected in common to all pixels.

[0292] Note that in FIG. 19B, as an example, the circuit 5361 includes a circuit 5363_1 and a circuit 536 3_2 is supplied with separate signals. Start signal (GSP1), clock signal for the scanning line driving circuit (GCK1), and The inverted clock signal (GCKB1) for the operating circuit and other signals are supplied to the circuit 5363_1. The circuit 5361 outputs a start signal (GSP2) for the scanning line driver circuit, Clock signal (GCK2), inverted clock signal for scanning line driver circuit (GCKB2), etc. The circuit 5363_1 supplies the signal to the circuit 5363_2. 72, and the circuit 5363_2 scans only the odd-numbered wirings of the plurality of wirings 5372. That is, only the wirings in the even rows can be scanned. Since the driving frequency of the circuit 5363_2 can be reduced, the power consumption can be reduced. Alternatively, the area in which one flip-flop can be laid out can be increased. Therefore, the display device can be made high-definition. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As in FIG. 19A, the circuit 5361 can be It is possible to output the same signal to the circuit 5363_1 and the circuit 5363_2.

[0293] 19B, the circuit 5361 in FIG. 19A is the same as the circuit 5363 in FIG. It is possible to supply separate signals to circuit 5363_1 and circuit 5363_2.

[0294] An example of the system block of the display device has been described above.

[0295] Next, an example of the configuration of the display device will be described with reference to FIGS. This will be explained with reference to E).

[0296] In FIG. 20A, a circuit having a function of outputting a signal to a pixel portion 5364 (for example, a circuit 5 362, a circuit 5363_1, and a circuit 5363_2, etc.) are formed on the same substrate as the pixel portion 5364. The circuit 5361 is formed on a substrate different from the pixel portion 5364. This reduces the number of external components, thereby reducing costs. Since the number of signals or voltages input to the board 5380 is reduced, the board 5380 and the external components can be connected more efficiently. The number of connections can be reduced, which improves reliability and yield. can.

[0297] In addition, when the circuit is formed on a substrate different from the pixel portion 5364, the substrate is a TAB (Ta PE Automated Bonding (FPC) method Alternatively, the substrate may be implemented in a printed circuit board (PCB). 5364 is mounted on the same substrate 538 as the pixel part 5364 by the COG (Chip on Glass) method. It is possible to implement 0.

[0298] When the circuit is formed on a substrate different from the pixel portion 5364, the substrate is preferably made of a single crystal semiconductor. Therefore, a transistor formed on the substrate can be formed. The circuit has the advantages of improved drive frequency, improved drive voltage, and reduced output signal variation. You can get the points.

[0299] In addition, a signal, voltage, or current is input from an external circuit via an input terminal 5381. This is often the case.

[0300] In FIG. 20B, circuits with low drive frequencies (for example, circuit 5363_1, circuit 5363_ 2) is formed on the same substrate 5380 as the pixel portion 5364. The circuit 5362 is formed on a substrate different from that of the pixel portion 5364. The transistors make it possible to configure the circuits formed on the substrate 5380. For the semiconductor layer of the transistor, a non-single crystal semiconductor, a microcrystalline semiconductor, an organic semiconductor, or Therefore, it is possible to increase the size of the display device and reduce the number of manufacturing steps. It is possible to reduce the number of parts, reduce costs, or improve yields.

[0301] As shown in FIG. 20C, a part of the circuit 5362 (a circuit 5362a) is The remaining circuit 5362 (circuit 5362b) is formed on the same substrate 5380 as the pixel portion 564. The circuit 5362a may be formed on a different substrate from the one 364. Circuits that can be constructed using transistors (e.g., shift registers, selectors, shift registers, etc.) In addition, the circuit 5362b has high mobility and characteristic variations. Circuits that are preferably constructed using transistors with low distortion (e.g., shift registers) In many cases, the IC has a built-in amplifier (e.g., a 32-bit amplifier ... By doing so, as in FIG. 20(B), a non-single layer can be used as the semiconductor layer of the transistor. A crystalline semiconductor, a microcrystalline semiconductor, an organic semiconductor, an oxide semiconductor, or the like can be used. This allows for a further reduction in the number of external components.

[0302] In FIG. 20D, a circuit having a function of outputting a signal to the pixel portion 5364 (for example, the circuit 5 362, circuit 5363_1, and circuit 5363_2, etc.), and controlling these circuits A circuit having a function (for example, a circuit 5361) is formed on a substrate different from the pixel portion 5364. This makes it possible to form the pixel section and its peripheral circuits on separate substrates. Therefore, the yield can be improved.

[0303] As in FIG. 20D, in FIGS. 20A to 20C, the circuit 5363_1 and The circuit 5363_2 can be formed on a substrate different from that of the pixel portion 5364.

[0304] In FIG. 20E, a part of the circuit 5361 (circuit 5361a) is formed on the same substrate as the pixel portion 5364. 5380, and the remaining circuit 5361 (circuit 5361b) is formed separately from the pixel portion 5364. The circuit 5361a is formed on a substrate. In some cases, the device has a circuit that can be used to The circuit 5361b uses transistors with high mobility and small variation. A circuit (e.g., a shift register, a timing generator, an o The input often has a built-in inverting resistor, regulator, or analog buffer.

[0305] In addition, in FIG. 20(A) to (D), the circuit 5361a and the pixel portion 5364 are mounted on the same substrate. In addition, the circuit 5361b can be formed on a substrate different from that of the pixel portion 5364.

[0306] (Embodiment 10) In this embodiment, examples of the structure of a transistor will be described with reference to FIGS. ) will be referred to for explanation.

[0307] FIG. 21A shows an example of the structure of a top-gate transistor. FIG. FIG. 21C shows an example of the structure of a bottom-gate transistor. 1 is an example of a structure of a transistor manufactured by

[0308] FIG. 21A shows a substrate 5260, an insulating layer 5261 formed on the substrate 5260, A region 5262a, a region 5262b, a region 5262c, and a region 5262d are formed on an insulating layer 5261. A semiconductor layer 5262 having regions 5262d and 5262e and a semiconductor layer 5262 having a The insulating layer 5263 is formed as shown in FIG. A conductive layer 5264 having an insulating layer 5263 and a conductive layer 5264 having an opening is formed over the insulating layer 5263 and the conductive layer 5264. and a conductive layer 5265 formed on the insulating layer 5265 and in the opening of the insulating layer 5265. A layer 5266 and a conductive layer 5267 formed on the insulating layer 5265 and having an opening. An insulating layer 5267 and a conductive layer formed on the insulating layer 5267 and in the opening of the insulating layer 5267. 5268, and an insulating layer having an opening formed on the insulating layer 5267 and the conductive layer 5268. A border layer 5269 and a light-emitting layer 5 formed on the insulating layer 5269 and in the opening of the insulating layer 5269. 270 and a conductive layer 5271 formed on the insulating layer 5269 and on the light-emitting layer 5270. show.

[0309] FIG. 21B shows a substrate 5300, a conductive layer 5301 formed on the substrate 5300, An insulating layer 5302 formed to cover the conductive layer 5301, and a conductive layer 5301 and an insulating layer 5302 A semiconductor layer 5303a formed on the semiconductor layer 5303a and a semiconductor layer 5303b formed on the semiconductor layer 5303a. A conductor layer 5303b and a conductive layer formed on the semiconductor layer 5303b and on the insulating layer 5302. A layer 5304 is formed on the insulating layer 5302 and the conductive layer 5304 and has an opening. An insulating layer 5305 and a conductive layer formed on the insulating layer 5305 and in the opening of the insulating layer 5305. 5306, a liquid crystal layer 5307 disposed on the insulating layer 5305 and on the conductive layer 5306, 53, a conductive layer 5308 formed on the liquid crystal layer 5307 is shown.

[0310] FIG. 21C shows a semiconductor substrate 5352 having a region 5353 and a region 5355; An insulating layer 5356 formed on the semiconductor substrate 5352 and a A conductive layer 5357 is formed on the insulating layer 5356. 4. An insulating layer 535 having an opening formed on the insulating layer 5356 and the conductive layer 5357. 8 and a conductive layer 5359 formed on the insulating layer 5358 and in the opening of the insulating layer 5358. Thus, transistors are formed in each of the regions 5350 and 5351.

[0311] The insulating layer 5261 can function as a base film. The insulating layer 5263 serves as an isolation layer (e.g., a field oxide film). The insulating layer 5356 can function as a gate insulating film. The insulating layer 5301 and the conductive layer 5357 can function as a gate electrode. The insulating layer 5265, the insulating layer 5267, the insulating layer 5305, and the insulating layer 5358 are an interlayer film or a flat The conductive layer 5266, the conductive layer 5304, and the conductive layer 5 359 can function as a wiring, an electrode of a transistor, an electrode of a capacitor, or the like. The conductive layer 5268 and the conductive layer 5306 can be used as a pixel electrode, a reflective electrode, or the like. The insulating layer 5269 can function as a partition. The conductive layer 5271 and the conductive layer 5308 function as a counter electrode, a common electrode, or the like. It is possible.

[0312] Examples of the substrate 5260 and the substrate 5300 include a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, and a silicon substrate. , a metal substrate, a stainless steel substrate, a flexible substrate, etc. An example of a glass substrate is Examples of flexible substrates include barium borosilicate glass and aluminoborosilicate glass. Examples are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). , plastics such as polyethersulfone (PES), or flexible materials such as acrylic. Other examples include laminated films (polypropylene, polyester, etc.). steril, vinyl, polyvinyl fluoride, polyvinyl chloride, etc.), paper containing fibrous materials, base fiber Films (polyester, polyamide, inorganic vapor deposition film, paper, etc.)

[0313] The semiconductor substrate 5352 is, for example, a single crystal Si substrate having n-type or p-type conductivity. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plate similar to the substrate 5260 can be used. The region 5353 can be, for example, a semiconductor substrate 5352 with impurities. For example, if the semiconductor substrate 5352 is a p-type conductive region, If the region 5353 has an n-type conductivity, the region 5353 functions as an n-well. On the other hand, when the semiconductor substrate 5352 has an n-type conductivity, the region 5353 has a p-type conductivity. The region 5355 has an impurity in the semiconductor substrate 53 and functions as a p-well. 52 and function as a source region or a drain region. The body substrate 5352 may have LDD regions formed therein.

[0314] An example of the insulating layer 5261 is silicon oxide (SiO x ), silicon nitride (SiN x ), nitric oxide Silicon carbide (SiO x N y )(x>y), silicon oxynitride (SiN x O y )(x>y) and other acids The insulating layer 5261 has a two-layer structure. As an example of the structure, a silicon nitride film is provided as the first insulating layer, and a silicon nitride film is provided as the second insulating layer. A silicon oxide film can be provided as the insulating film. The insulating layer 5261 is provided in a three-layer structure. In one example, a silicon oxide film is provided as the first insulating film and a silicon dioxide film is provided as the second insulating film. It is possible to provide a silicon nitride film as the first insulating film and a silicon oxide film as the third insulating film.

[0315] An example of the semiconductor layer 5262, the semiconductor layer 5303a, and the semiconductor layer 5303b is a non-single Crystalline semiconductors (amorphous silicon, polycrystalline silicon, microcrystalline silicon, etc.) , single crystal semiconductor, compound semiconductor or oxide semiconductor (ZnO, InGaZnO, SiG e, GaAs, IZO, ITO, SnO), organic semiconductors, carbon nanotubes, etc. There is.

[0316] For example, the region 5262a is an intrinsic semiconductor layer 5262 to which no impurities are added. However, a small amount of impurity is added to the region 5262a. The impurity added to the region 5262a can be added to the region 5262b, 5262c, 5262d, or 5262e. It is preferable that the regions 5262b and 5262d are lightly doped with impurities. This region functions as a Lightly Doped Drain (LDD) region. However, the area 5262b and the area 5262d can be omitted. The regions 5262c and 5262e are regions in which impurities are added to the semiconductor layer 5262 at a high concentration. It functions as a source region or a drain region.

[0317] The semiconductor layer 5303b is a semiconductor layer to which phosphorus or the like is added as an impurity element. It has n-type conductivity.

[0318] When an oxide semiconductor or a compound semiconductor is used for the semiconductor layer 5303a, The semiconductor layer 5303b can be omitted.

[0319] An example of the insulating layer 5263, the insulating layer 5302, and the insulating layer 5356 is silicon oxide (Si O x ), silicon nitride (SiN x ), silicon oxynitride (SiO x N y)(x>y), silicon oxynitride SiN x O y ) (x>y) or a film having oxygen or nitrogen, or a laminate structure thereof There are various constructions.

[0320] A conductive layer 5264, a conductive layer 5266, a conductive layer 5268, a conductive layer 5271, a conductive layer 5301, The conductive layer 5304, the conductive layer 5306, the conductive layer 5308, the conductive layer 5357, and the conductive layer 53 An example of the conductive film 59 is a conductive film having a single layer structure or a laminated structure thereof. Examples of these include aluminum (Al), tantalum (Ta), titanium (Ti), and molybdenum (Mo). Mo, Tungsten (W), Neodymium (Nd), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni ), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), Niobium (Nb), Silicon (Si), Iron (Fe), Palladium (Pd), Carbon (C), scandium (Sc), zinc (Zn), phosphorus (P), boron (B), arsenic (As ), gallium (Ga), indium (In), tin (Sn), and oxygen (O). A film of a single element selected from the group consisting of the elements listed above, or a film of one or more elements selected from the group consisting of the elements listed above. An example of the compound is one or more selected from the above group. Alloys containing several elements (Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO) , indium tin oxide with silicon oxide (ITSO), zinc oxide (ZnO), tin oxide (Sn O), Cadmium Tin Oxide (CTO), Aluminum Neodymium (Al-Nd), Magnesium Silver ( Mg-Ag), Molybdenum Niobium (Mo-Nb), Molybdenum Tungsten (Mo-W) , molybdenum-tantalum (Mo-Ta) alloy materials, is a compound of multiple elements and nitrogen (titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, molybdenum nitride, etc.) film), or a compound of one or more elements selected from the above group with silicon (tungsten Sten silicide, titanium silicide, nickel silicide, aluminum silicon, molybdenum Other examples include carbon nanotubes, organic nanotubes, and silicon silicide films. The nanotube materials include nanotubes, inorganic nanotubes, or metallic nanotubes.

[0321] Silicon (Si) is doped with n-type impurities (such as phosphorus) or p-type impurities (such as boron). It is possible to include

[0322] When copper is used as a conductive layer, it is recommended to use a laminated structure to improve adhesion. is preferred.

[0323] The conductive layer in contact with the oxide semiconductor or silicon may be formed using molybdenum or titanium. It is preferable to use

[0324] In addition, by using an alloy material of neodymium and aluminum as the conductive layer, This makes it less likely for nium to cause hillocks.

[0325] When a semiconductor material such as silicon is used as the conductive layer, the semiconductor material such as silicon The material can be formed simultaneously with a semiconductor layer of the transistor.

[0326] In addition, ITO, IZO, ITSO, ZnO, Si, SnO, CTO, or carbon nanotube Since the tubes and the like have light-transmitting properties, these materials can be used as pixel electrodes, counter electrodes, or common electrodes. It can be used in light-transmitting parts such as electrodes.

[0327] In addition, by forming a laminated structure using a low resistance material (such as aluminum), The resistance of the line can be reduced.

[0328] In addition, low heat-resistant materials (such as aluminum) are replaced with high heat-resistant materials (such as molybdenum). By sandwiching the low heat resistant material (such as tantalum, titanium, neodymium, etc.) in a laminated structure, This makes it possible to take advantage of the advantages of the material while improving the heat resistance of wiring, electrodes, etc.

[0329] In addition, materials that react to other materials and change their properties are called materials that do not react easily to those other materials. For example, ITO and aluminum can be used to sandwich or cover the material. When connecting the ITO and aluminum, neodymium alloy, titanium, molybdenum For example, when connecting silicon and aluminum, Neodymium alloy, titanium, or molybdenum can be sandwiched between silicon and aluminum. These materials can be used for wiring, electrodes, conductive layers, conductive films, terminals, vias, plugs, etc. It can be used anywhere.

[0330] An insulating layer 5265, an insulating layer 5267, an insulating layer 5269, an insulating layer 5305, and an insulating layer 535 An example of the insulating film 8 is a single-layer insulating film or a laminated structure thereof. One example is silicon oxide (SiO x ), silicon nitride (SiN x ), or silicon oxynitride ( SiO x N y )(x>y), silicon oxynitride (SiN x O y ) (x>y) or Nitrogen-containing films, carbon-containing films such as DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon), or siloxane San resin, epoxy, polyimide, polyamide, polyvinylphenol, benzocyclobutene Examples of the material include organic materials such as acrylic and the like.

[0331] An example of the light-emitting layer 5270 is an organic EL element or an inorganic EL element. An example of the element includes a hole injection layer made of a hole injection material, a hole transport layer made of a hole transport material, and a hole transport layer made of a hole transport material. a light-emitting layer made of a light-emitting material; an electron transport layer made of an electron transport material; A single layer structure of an electron injection layer, etc., or a layer in which a plurality of these materials are mixed, or Often these include laminated structures.

[0332] Examples of the liquid crystal layer 5307 include nematic liquid crystal, cholesteric liquid crystal, and smectic liquid crystal. crystals, discotic liquid crystals, thermotropic liquid crystals, lyotropic liquid crystals, low molecular weight liquid crystals, high molecular weight liquid crystals Molecular liquid crystal, polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), ferroelectric liquid crystal, antiferroelectric liquid crystal, main chain liquid crystal, Examples include chain-type polymer liquid crystal, plasma-addressed liquid crystal (PALC), and banana-shaped liquid crystal. The liquid crystal display is driven by the Twisted Nematic (TN) mode. mode, STN (Super Twisted Nematic) mode, IPS (In-P lane-Switching) mode, FFS (Fringe Field Switching) mode ching) mode, MVA(Multi-domain Vertical Alig) nment) mode, PVA(Patterned Vertical Alignme) nt) mode, ASV (Advanced Super View) mode, ASM (A xially Symmetric aligned Micro-cell) mode, OCB(Optically Compensated Birefringence) Mode, ECB (Electrically Controlled Birefring induction mode, FLC (Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal al) mode, AFLC (AntiFerroelectric Liquid Cry stal) mode, PDLC (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Crystal mode, guest host mode, Blue Phase mode etc.

[0333] Note that an insulating layer functioning as an alignment film was provided over the insulating layer 5305 and the conductive layer 5306. It is possible to form an insulating layer or the like that functions as a protrusion.

[0334] Note that a color filter, a black matrix, or a protrusion is provided on the conductive layer 5308. An insulating layer or the like that functions as a conductive layer can be formed under the conductive layer 5308. It is possible to form an insulating layer that acts as a barrier.

[0335] In the cross-sectional structure of FIG. 21A, the insulating layer 5269, the light-emitting layer 5270, and the conductive layer 21B. The liquid crystal layer 5307 and the conductive layer 5308 shown in FIG. 21B are omitted. 7 and on conductive layer 5268.

[0336] In the cross-sectional structure of FIG. 21B, the liquid crystal layer 5307 and the conductive layer 5308 are omitted. 21(A), an insulating layer 5269, a light-emitting layer 5270, and a conductive layer 5271 are formed on the insulating layer 530. 5 and on the conductive layer 5306.

[0337] In the cross-sectional structure of FIG. 21C, 21(A), an insulating layer 5269, a light-emitting layer 5270, and a conductive layer 5271 are formed. Alternatively, the liquid crystal layer 5307 and the conductive layer 5308 shown in FIG. 21(B) may be formed as an insulating layer. It is possible to form a conductive layer 5267 and a conductive layer 5268 .

[0338] (Embodiment 11) In this embodiment, an example of an electronic device will be described.

[0339] 22(A) to 22(H) and 23(A) to 23(D) are diagrams showing electronic devices. These electronic devices include a housing 5000, a display unit 5001, a speaker 5003, and an LED. A lamp 5004, an operation key 5005 (including a power switch or an operation switch), a connection terminal Child 5006, sensor 5007 (force, displacement, position, velocity, acceleration, angular velocity, number of rotations, distance, Light, liquid, magnetism, temperature, chemicals, sound, time, hardness, electric field, current, voltage, power, radiation, (including functions for measuring flow rate, humidity, gradient, vibration, odor, or infrared rays), 5008, etc.

[0340] FIG. 22A shows a mobile computer, which includes, in addition to the above, a switch 5009, The portable terminal 5010 may have an infrared port 5010. FIG. A type of image reproducing device (for example, a DVD reproducing device) that, in addition to the above, also has a second display 22C shows a goog In addition to the above, the display includes a second display unit 5002, a support unit 5012, The game machine may have earphones 5013, etc. FIG. 22(D) shows a portable game machine. In addition to the above, the device may have a recording medium reading unit 5011, etc. In addition to the above, the projector includes a light source 5033, a projection lens 5034, etc. FIG. 22(F) shows a portable gaming machine, which, in addition to the above, has a second display unit. 22G shows a television receiver 5002, a recording medium reading unit 5011, etc. In addition to the above, the image sensor may also include a tuner, an image processor, etc. 22(H) is a portable television receiver, capable of transmitting and receiving signals in addition to the above. FIG. 23(A) shows a display, and the above-mentioned In addition to the above, a support stand 5018 and the like can be provided. FIG. 23(B) shows a camera. In addition to the above, an external connection port 5019, a shutter button 5015, an image receiving unit 5016, etc. FIG. 23(C) is a computer, In addition, there is a pointing device 5020, an external connection port 5019, a reader / writer 5 021, etc. FIG. 23(D) shows a mobile phone, which, in addition to the above, In addition, an antenna 5014, a 1-segment partial reception service tuner for mobile phones and mobile terminals It may have a nozzle, etc.

[0341] The electronic devices shown in FIGS. 22(A) to 22(H) and 23(A) to 23(D) are For example, various information (still images, videos, text images, etc.) Function to display on the display unit, touch panel function, calendar, date or time display, etc. Functions, functions to control processing by various software (programs), wireless communication functions, A function to connect to various computer networks using wireless communication functions, A function to transmit or receive various data using a program recorded on a recording medium The data can be read out and displayed on the display unit. In electronic devices with displays, one display unit is used primarily to display image information, and another A function that mainly displays text information on one display unit, or a function that takes parallax into account on multiple displays By displaying an image, it is possible to have a function of displaying a stereoscopic image. In electronic devices having an image receiving unit, the functions of taking still images, taking videos, and The function to automatically or manually correct the captured image, and to store the captured image on a recording medium (external or in the camera) It can have functions such as storing the captured image on a built-in memory and displaying the captured image on the display unit. Note that the electronic devices shown in FIGS. The functions that can be possessed by the are not limited to these, and the function can have various functions.

[0342] The electronic device described in this embodiment has a display unit for displaying some information. It is characterized by:

[0343] Next, application examples of the semiconductor device will be described.

[0344] FIG. 23(E) shows an example in which a semiconductor device is integrated with a building. ) includes a housing 5022, a display unit 5023, a remote control device 5024 as an operation unit, and a speaker 5025. The semiconductor device is a wall-mounted type that is integrated with the building and requires a large space to install. It can be installed without requiring a large space.

[0345] FIG. 23(F) shows another example in which a semiconductor device is provided inside a building as an integral part of the building. The display panel 5026 is attached to the unit bath 5027 and is The display panel 5026 becomes viewable.

[0346] In this embodiment, a wall and a unit bath are used as examples of structures. The manner in which the semiconductor device is installed is not limited to this, and the semiconductor device can be installed in various structures.

[0347] Next, an example in which the semiconductor device is integrated with a moving object will be described.

[0348] FIG. 23G is a diagram showing an example in which the semiconductor device is provided in an automobile. 5028 is attached to a vehicle body 5029 of a vehicle, and is configured to detect the movement of the vehicle body or the inside and outside of the vehicle. The information entered can be displayed on demand. It is okay to do so.

[0349] FIG. 23(H) is a diagram showing an example in which a semiconductor device is integrated with a passenger airplane. FIG. 23(H) shows a passenger plane with a display panel 5031 on a ceiling 5030 above the seats. The display panel 5031 is attached to the ceiling 50. 30 and the hinge portion 5032. This allows passengers to view the display panel 5031. The display panel 5031 is operated by passengers. It has the function of displaying information by

[0350] In this embodiment, an automobile body and an airplane body are exemplified as moving bodies. However, this is not limited to motorcycles, four-wheeled vehicles (including cars, buses, etc.), trains (monorail, etc.) They can be installed on a variety of things, including buildings, railways, ships, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0351] 101 Circuit 102 Circuit 102a Circuit 102b Circuit 103a Switch 103b Switch 104a Switch 104b Switch 301 area 302 areas 303 areas 1001 Equipment 1002 Point light source 1003 Threshold 1004 Threshold 1005 Spacer 1006 Vertical pitch 1007 Horizontal pitch 1011 Diffuser 1012 Display panel 1013 Height 1014 Height 1015 interval 1102 Surface light source 1103 Line light source 1104 Light guide plate 1105 Bottom 1106 Fluorescent tube (cathode tube) 1107 Diffuser 5000 cabinet 5001 Display section 5002 2nd display section 5003 Speaker 5004 LED Lamp 5005 Operation key 5006 Connection terminal 5007 Sensor 5008 Microphone 5009 Switch 5010 Infrared port 5011 Recording medium reading unit 5012 Support part 5013 Earphones 5015 Shutter button 5016 Image receiving unit 5018 Support stand 5019 External connection port 5020 Pointing Device 5021 Reader / Writer 5022 Case 5023 Display section 5024 Remote control device 5025 Speaker 5026 Display Panel 5027 Unit Bath 5028 Display Panel 5029 Body 5030 Ceiling 5031 Display Panel 5032 Hinge part 5033 Light source 5034 Projection Lens 5080 pixels 5081 Transistor 5082 Liquid crystal element 5083 Capacitive element 5084 Wiring 5085 Wiring 5086 Wiring 5087 Wiring 5101 dashed line 5102 Solid line 5103 Dashed Line 5104 Solid line 5105 Solid line 5106 Solid Line 5107 Solid Line 5108 Solid line 5121 images 5121a Image 5121b Images 5122 images 5122a Image 5122b Image 5123 images 5123a Image 5123b Images 5124 area 5125 area 5126 area 5127 Motion Vector 5128 Image Generation Vectors 5129 area 5130 Object 5131 area 5260 PCB 5261 Insulation layer 5262 Semiconductor layer 5262a area 5262b area 5262c area 5262d area 5262e area 5263 Insulation layer 5264 Conductive layer 5265 Insulation layer 5266 Conductive layer 5267 Insulating layer 5268 Conductive layer 5269 Insulation layer 5270 Light-emitting layer 5271 Conductive layer 5273 Insulation layer 5300 Board 5301 Conductive layer 5302 Insulating layer 5303a Semiconductor layer 5303b Semiconductor layer 5304 Conductive layer 5305 Insulation layer 5306 Conductive layer 5307 Liquid crystal layer 5308 Conductive layer 5350 area 5351 area 5352 Semiconductor substrate 5353 area 5354 Insulation layer 5355 area 5356 Insulation layer 5357 Conductive layer 5358 Insulation layer 5359 Conductive layer 5360 Video signal 5361 Circuit 5361a Circuit 5361b circuit 5362 Circuit 5362a Circuit 5362b circuit 5363 Circuit 5364 Pixel section 5365 Circuit 5366 Lighting equipment 5367 pixels 5371 Wiring 5372 Wiring 5373 Wiring 5380 PCB 5381 Input terminal

Claims

[Claim 1] A first step of performing frame interpolation processing using image data; a second step of performing a first super-resolution process on an m-th frame (m is a natural number equal to or greater than 1) generated by the first step; a third step of performing a second super-resolution process on the (m+1)-th frame generated by the first step; a fourth step of performing edge enhancement processing using the data generated in the second step and the data generated in the third step; and a fifth step of performing an overdrive process using the data generated by the first step, A method of driving a display device, wherein the second step and the third step are carried out simultaneously after the first step.

Images