Display with signal lines having a transparent portion

Abstract

The present invention provides a display having signal lines with transparent portions. [Solution] The display may include an active area having a first region and a second region. The first region may overlap with input / output components such as a camera and may have higher transparency than the second region. The first region may have a lower pixel density than the second region. A signal line passing through the first region may have a transparent portion overlapping the first region and an opaque portion overlapping the second region. To mitigate artifacts caused by the high resistance of the transparent portion of the signal line, the signal line may include a supplementary opaque portion electrically connected in parallel with the transparent portion and routed through the second region around the first region.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 667,776, filed May 17, 2024, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 510,479, filed Jun. 27, 2023, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Background Art

[0002] This application relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly to electronic devices having a display. Electronic devices often include a display. For example, an electronic device may have an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display based on organic light-emitting diode pixels. In this type of display, each pixel includes a light-emitting diode and a thin-film transistor for controlling the application of a signal to the light-emitting diode to generate light. The light-emitting diode may include an OLED layer disposed between an anode and a cathode.

[0003] There is a trend towards borderless electronic devices using full-face displays. However, these devices may still need to include sensors such as cameras, ambient light sensors, and proximity sensors to provide other device capabilities. Now that the display covers the entire front of the electronic device, the sensors must be placed under the display stack. However, in practice, the amount of light transmitted through the display stack is very low (i.e., the transmittance can be less than 20% in the visible spectrum), severely limiting the sensing performance under the display.

[0004] The embodiments described herein arise from this background.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] An electronic device may include a display having an array of pixels and a plurality of data lines for the array of pixels. A given data line among the plurality of data lines may include a first opaque portion, a second opaque portion, a transparent portion interposed between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion and electrically connected, and a third opaque portion routed through the array of pixels to electrically connect the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion.

[0006] An electronic device may include input / output components and a display having an array of pixels and signal lines. The display may have a first region and a second region, the first region may have higher transparency than the second region, the first region may overlap with the input / output components, and one of the signal lines may include a first opaque portion formed on a first side of the first region, a second opaque portion formed on a second side opposite to the first region, a transparent portion extending between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion, and a third opaque portion extending between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion.

[0007] An electronic device may include a display. A display may include an array of pixels and signal lines. Each pixel may have light-emitting subpixels and thin-film transistor subpixels, the array of pixels may have a first region having a first pixel density and a second region having a second pixel density greater than the first pixel density, the first region may have rows of thin-film transistor subpixels, and the signal lines may have a plurality of opaque portions overlapping with rows of thin-film transistor subpixels and a plurality of transparent portions extending between adjacent rows of thin-film transistor subpixels. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of an exemplary electronic device having a display and one or more sensors, according to some embodiments.

[0009] [Figure 2]This is a schematic diagram of an exemplary display equipped with a light-emitting element according to several embodiments.

[0010] [Figure 3] This is a side cross-sectional view of an exemplary display stack that at least partially covers a sensor, according to some embodiments.

[0011] [Figure 4] This is a side cross-sectional view of an exemplary display stack having a high-transmittance area overlapping with a sensor, according to several embodiments.

[0012] [Figure 5] This is a plan view of an exemplary display having a transparent opening that overlaps with a sensor, according to several embodiments.

[0013] [Figure 6A] This is an exemplary plan view of a display showing possible positions relative to a pixel removal region according to several embodiments. [Figure 6B] This is an exemplary plan view of a display showing possible positions relative to a pixel removal region according to several embodiments. [Figure 6C] This is an exemplary plan view of a display showing possible positions relative to a pixel removal region according to several embodiments. [Figure 6D] This is an exemplary plan view of a display showing possible positions relative to a pixel removal region according to several embodiments. [Figure 6E] This is an exemplary plan view of a display showing possible positions relative to a pixel removal region according to several embodiments. [Figure 6F] This is an exemplary plan view of a display showing possible positions relative to a pixel removal region according to several embodiments.

[0014] [Figure 7] This is a plan view of an exemplary display having data lines with transparent portions, according to several embodiments.

[0015] [Figure 8] A plan view of an exemplary display having a data line having an opaque portion connected to a display driver circuit and a transparent portion in a pixel removal region according to some embodiments.

[0016] [Figure 9] A plan view of an exemplary display having a data line having a transparent portion in a pixel removal region and an opaque portion routed around the pixel removal region and electrically connected in parallel with the transparent portion according to some embodiments.

[0017] [Figure 10] A graph of the settling time as a function of the position with respect to the signal lines of FIGS. 8 and 9 according to some embodiments.

[0018] [Figure 11] A graph of the change in luminance as a function of the position with respect to the signal lines of FIGS. 8 and 9 according to some embodiments.

[0019] [Figure 12] A plan view of an exemplary display having a signal line having a plurality of opaque portions overlapping a thin film transistor sub-pixel and a plurality of transparent portions extending between adjacent rows of the thin film transistor sub-pixels according to some embodiments.

[0020] [Figure 13] A side cross-sectional view of an exemplary display having a transparent conductive layer formed above an opaque metal layer according to some embodiments.

[0021] [Figure 14] A side cross-sectional view of an exemplary display having a transparent conductive layer formed below an opaque metal layer according to some embodiments.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0022] Figure 1 shows an exemplary electronic device of a type that may have a display. Electronic device 10 may be a computing device such as a laptop computer, a computer monitor including an embedded computer, a tablet computer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld or portable electronic device; a wristwatch-type device, a pendant-type device, a headphone-type or earphone-type device, a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on the user's head, or a smaller device such as other wearable or small devices; a display, a computer display including an embedded computer, a computer display not including an embedded computer, a gaming device, a navigation device, an embedded system such as a system in which an electronic device having a display is installed in a kiosk or automobile; or other electronic device. Electronic device 10 may have the shape of a pair of eyeglasses (e.g., a support frame), may form a helmet-shaped housing, or may have other configurations that help to attach and secure one or more display components on the user's head or near the eyes.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1, the electronic device 10 may include a control circuit configuration 16 to support the operation of the device 10. The control circuit 16 may include storage devices such as a hard disk drive, non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory, or other electrically programmable read-only memory configured to form a solid-state drive), or volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access memory). Processing circuits within the control circuit 16 may be used to control the operation of the device 10. The processing circuits may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio chips, application-specific integrated circuits, etc.

[0024] Input / output circuit configurations within device 10, such as input / output device 12, can be used to enable data to be supplied to device 10 and to enable data to be supplied from device 10 to external devices. Input / output device 12 may include buttons, joysticks, scroll wheels, touchpads, keypads, keyboards, microphones, speakers, sound sources, vibrators, cameras, sensors, light-emitting diodes, and other status indicators, data ports, etc. The user can control the operation of device 10 by supplying commands through the input resources of input / output device 12, and can receive status information and other outputs from device 10 using the output resources of input / output device 12.

[0025] The input / output device 12 may include one or more displays, such as display 14. Display 14 may be a touchscreen display including a touch sensor for collecting touch input from the user, or display 14 may not be touch-sensitive. The touch sensor for display 14 may be based on an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes, an acoustic touch sensor structure, a resistive touch component, a force-based touch sensor structure, an optical touch sensor, or other suitable touch sensor configuration. The touch sensor for display 14 may be formed from electrodes formed on a common display substrate having the display pixels of display 14, or from a separate touch sensor panel overlapping the pixels of display 14. If desired, display 14 may not be touch-sensitive (i.e., the touch sensor may be omitted). Display 14 in the electronic device 10 may be a head-up display that allows the user to view without having to avert their gaze from a typical viewpoint, or a head-mounted display incorporated into a device worn on the user's head. If desired, display 14 may be a holographic display used to display holograms.

[0026] The control circuit 16 can be used to execute software such as operating system code and applications on device 10. While device 10 is operating, the software running on the control circuit configuration 16 can display images on the display 14.

[0027] The input / output device 12 may also include one or more sensors 13, such as force sensors (e.g., strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, resistive force sensors, etc.), audio sensors such as microphones, touch sensors and / or proximity sensors such as capacitive sensors (e.g., two-dimensional capacitive touch sensors associated with a display, and / or touch sensors forming buttons, trackpads, or other input devices not associated with a display), and other sensors. According to some embodiments, the sensor 13 may include optical sensors such as optical sensors that emit light for detection (e.g., optical proximity sensors such as semi-reflective optical proximity structures), ultrasonic sensors, and / or other touch sensors and / or proximity sensors, monochromatic light sensors and ambient color light sensors, image sensors, fingerprint sensors, temperature sensors, proximity sensors and other sensors for measuring three-dimensional non-contact gestures ("air gestures"), pressure sensors, sensors for detecting position, orientation and / or motion (e.g., accelerometers, magnetic sensors such as compass sensors, gyroscopes, and / or inertial measurement units including some or all of these sensors), health sensors, high-frequency sensors, depth sensors (e.g., structured light sensors and / or depth sensors based on stereo imaging devices), optical sensors such as self-mixed sensors and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors for collecting time-of-flight measurements, humidity sensors, moisture sensors, gaze tracking sensors, and / or other sensors. In some configurations, device 10 can use sensors 13 and / or other input / output devices to collect user input (for example, a button can be used to collect button press input, a touch sensor superimposed on the display can be used to collect user touchscreen input, a touchpad can be used to collect touch input, a microphone can be used to collect audio input, and an accelerometer can be used to monitor when a finger touches the input surface, and thus can be used to collect finger press input).

[0028] The display 14 may be an organic light-emitting diode display, an array of individual light-emitting diodes (microLEDs), each formed from a crystalline semiconductor die, or a display based on other types of display technology (e.g., liquid crystal displays). Device configurations in which the display 14 is an organic light-emitting diode display are sometimes described herein as examples. However, these are merely illustrative. Any preferred type of display may be used if desired. In general, the display 14 may have a rectangular shape (i.e., the display 14 may have a rectangular area and a rectangular peripheral edge extending around the rectangular area), or it may have other preferred shapes. The display 14 may be flat or it may have a curved shape.

[0029] Figure 2 shows a top view of a portion of the display 14. As shown in Figure 2, the display 14 may have an array of pixels 22 formed on a substrate. Pixels 22 can receive data signals via signal paths such as data lines D, and can receive one or more control signals via control signal paths such as horizontal control lines G (sometimes called gate lines, scan lines, light emission control lines, etc.). Within the display 14, there may be any suitable number of rows and columns of pixels 22 (e.g., tens or more, hundreds or thousands or more). Each pixel 22 may include a light-emitting diode 26 that emits light 24 under the control of a pixel control circuit formed from a thin-film transistor circuit such as a thin-film transistor 28 and a thin-film capacitor. The thin-film transistor 28 may be a polysilicon thin-film transistor, a semiconductor oxide thin-film transistor such as an indium zinc gallium oxide (IGZO) transistor, or a thin-film transistor formed from another semiconductor. Pixels 22 may include light-emitting diodes of different colors (e.g., red, green, and blue) to provide the display 14 with the ability to display color images, or they may be monochromatic pixels.

[0030] A display driver circuit can be used to control the operation of the pixels 22. The display driver circuit may be formed from an integrated circuit, a thin-film transistor circuit, or other suitable circuit. The display driver circuit 30 in Figure 2 may include a communication circuit for communicating with a system control circuit, such as the control circuit 16 in Figure 1, via a path 32. The path 32 may be formed from traces on a flexible printed circuit or other cables. During operation, the control circuit (e.g., the control circuit 16 in Figure 1) may supply the display driver circuit 30 with information about the image displayed on the display 14.

[0031] To display an image on the display pixels 22, the display driver circuit 30 may supply image data to the data line D while issuing a clock signal and other control signals to an auxiliary display driver circuit, such as a gate driver circuit 34, via path 38. If desired, the display driver circuit 30 may also supply a clock signal and other control signals to the gate driver circuit 34 on the opposite edge of the display 14.

[0032] The gate driver circuit 34 (sometimes called a row control circuit) may be implemented as part of an integrated circuit and / or using a thin-film transistor circuit. The horizontal control lines G in the display 14 can carry gate line signals such as scan line signals, light emission enable control signals, and other horizontal control signals for controlling each row of display pixels 22. There may be any suitable number of horizontal control signals for each row of pixels 22 (e.g., one or more row control signals, two or more row control signals, three or more row control signals, four or more row control signals, etc.).

[0033] The area on the display 14 where the display pixels 22 are formed may also be referred to herein as the active area. The electronic device 10 has an external housing with a peripheral edge. The area surrounding the active area and within the peripheral edge of the device 10 is the boundary area. Images may only be displayed to the user of the device within the active area. Generally, it is desirable to minimize the boundary area of ​​the device 10. For example, the device 10 may be provided in conjunction with a full-face display 14 that extends across the entire front of the device. If desired, the display 14 may also wrap around the front edge so that at least a portion of the lateral edge and / or at least a portion of the back of the device 10 are used for display purposes.

[0034] Device 10 may include a sensor 13 mounted behind the display 14 (e.g., behind the active area of ​​the display). Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view of an exemplary display stack of the display 14, at least partially covering the sensor, according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the display stack may include a substrate, such as a substrate 300. The substrate 300 may be formed from glass, metal, plastic, ceramic, sapphire, or other suitable substrate material. In some configurations, the substrate 300 may be an organic substrate formed from (for example) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). One or more polyimide (PI) layers 302 may be formed on the substrate 300. The polyimide layers are sometimes referred to as organic substrates (e.g., substrate 300 is the first substrate layer and substrate 302 is the second substrate layer). The surface of the substrate 302 may optionally be covered with one or more buffer layers 303 (for example, inorganic buffer layers such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, amorphous silicon).

[0035] A thin-film transistor (TFT) layer 304 may be formed on the inorganic buffer layer 303 and the organic substrates 302 and 300. The TFT layer 304 may include thin-film transistors, thin-film capacitors, associated routing circuits, and other thin-film structures formed within multiple metal routing layers and dielectric layers. An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) layer 306 may be formed on the TFT layer 304. The OLED layer 306 may include a diode cathode layer, a diode anode layer, and a light-emitting material interposed between the cathode and anode layers. The OLED layer may include a pixel delimiting layer that defines the light-emitting area of ​​each pixel. The TFT circuit in layer 304 may be used to control the arrangement of display pixels formed by the OLED layer 306.

[0036] Circuits formed on the TFT layer 304 and the OLED layer 306 can be protected by a sealing layer 308. For example, the sealing layer 308 may include a first inorganic sealing layer, an organic sealing layer formed on the first inorganic sealing layer, and a second inorganic sealing layer formed on the organic sealing layer. The sealing layer 308 thus formed can help prevent moisture and other potential contaminants from damaging the conductive circuits covered by the layer 308. The substrate 300, polyimide layer 302, buffer layer 303, TFT layer 304, OLED layer 306, and sealing layer 308 can be collectively referred to as a display panel.

[0037] One or more polarizer films 312 may be formed on the sealing layer 308 using an adhesive 310. The adhesive 310 may be implemented using an optically clear adhesive (OCA) material that provides high light transmittance. One or more touch layers 316 that implement the touch sensor functionality of the touchscreen display 14 may be formed on the polarizer films 312 using an adhesive 314 (e.g., OCA material). For example, the touch layers 316 may include horizontal and vertical touch sensor electrodes that collectively form an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes. Finally, the display stack may be covered with a cover glass layer 320 (sometimes called a display cover layer 320) formed on the touch layers 316 using an additional adhesive 318 (e.g., OCA material). The display cover layer 320 may be a transparent layer (e.g., transparent plastic or glass) that serves as an outer protective layer for the display 14. The outer surface of the display cover layer 320 may form the outer surface of the display and the electronic device containing the display.

[0038] Referring further to Figure 3, the sensor 13 may be formed beneath the display stack within the electronic device 10. As described above in relation to Figure 1, the sensor 13 may be an optical sensor such as a camera, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, fingerprint sensor, or other light-based sensor. In some cases, the sensor 13 may include a light-emitting component that emits light through the display. The sensor 13 is therefore sometimes referred to as an input / output component 13. The input / output component 13 may be a sensor or a light-emitting component (which is, for example, part of the sensor). The performance of the input / output component 13 depends on the transmittance of light traversing the display stack, as indicated by arrow 350. However, a typical display stack has fairly limited transmittance characteristics. For example, more than 80% of the light in the visible and infrared light spectra is lost as it travels through the display stack, making sensing beneath the display 14 difficult.

[0039] Each of the multiple layers within the display stack contributes to the degradation of light transmittance to the sensor 13. In particular, the high-density thin-film transistors and associated routing structures within the TFT layer 304 of the display stack contribute substantially to low transmittance. According to one embodiment, at least some of the display pixels may be selectively removed within a region of the display stack located directly above the sensor(s) 13. A region of the display 14 that at least partially covers or overlaps the sensor(s) 13, from which at least a portion of the display pixels have been removed, may be referred to as a pixel-removed region, a low-density pixel region, or a high-transmittance region. Removing and / or reducing the display pixels in the pixel-removed region (e.g., removing transistors and / or capacitors associated with one or more subpixels) can significantly increase transmittance and improve the performance of the sensor 13 beneath the display. In addition to removing display pixels, portions of additional layers, such as the polyimide layer 302 and / or the substrate 300, may be removed for additional transmittance improvements. The polarizer 312 may also be decolorized for additional transmittance improvements.

[0040] Figure 4 is an exemplary side cross-sectional view of a display showing how pixels can be removed in a pixel removal region 332 to increase transmittance through the display. As shown in Figure 4, the display 14 may include a pixel region 322 and a high transmittance area 324. In the pixel region 322, the display may include pixels formed from a light-emitting material 306-2 interposed between an anode 306-1 and a cathode 306-3. A signal can be selectively applied to the anode 306-1 to cause the light-emitting material 306-2 to emit light toward the pixels. Circuitry within a thin-film transistor layer 304 may be used to control the signal applied to the anode 306-1.

[0041] In the high-transmittance area 324, the anode 306-1 and the light-emitting material 306-2 may be omitted. If there is no high-transmittance area, additional pixels may be formed in area 324 adjacent to the pixels in area 322. However, pixels in area 324 are removed to increase the transmittance of light to the sensor 13 below the display. The absence of the light-emitting material 306-2 and the anode 306-1 can increase the transmittance through the display stack. Additional circuitry in the thin-film transistor layer 304 may also be omitted in the high-transmittance area 324 to increase transmittance.

[0042] Further improvements in transmittance through the display stack can be achieved by selectively removing additional components from the display stack in the high-transmittance area 324. As shown in Figure 4, a portion of the cathode 306-3 can be removed in the high-transmittance area 324. This results in an aperture 326 in the cathode 306-3. In other words, the cathode 306-3 may have a conductive material that defines the aperture 326 in the pixel removal region. Removing the cathode in this way allows more light to pass through the display stack and reach the sensor 13. The cathode 306-3 can be formed from any desired conductive material. The cathode can be removed by etching (e.g., laser etching or plasma etching). Alternatively, the cathode may be patterned to have an aperture in the high-transmittance area 324 during the original cathode deposition and formation step.

[0043] The polyimide layer 302 may be removed in the high-transmittance area 324, in addition to the cathode layer 306-3. Removal of the polyimide layer 302 results in an aperture 328 in the pixel removal region. In other words, the polyimide layer may have a polyimide material that defines the aperture 328 in the high-transmittance region. The polyimide layer may be removed by etching (e.g., laser etching or plasma etching). Alternatively, the polyimide layer may be patterned to have an aperture in the high-transmittance area 324 during the original polyimide formation step. Removing the polyimide layer 302 in the high-transmittance area 324 may result in additional light transmission to the sensor 13 in the high-transmittance area 324.

[0044] The substrate 300 may be removed in the high-transmittance area 324, in addition to the cathode layer 306-3 and the polyimide layer 302. Removal of the substrate 300 results in an aperture 330 in the high-transmittance area. In other words, the substrate 300 may have a material (e.g., PET, PEN, etc.) that defines the aperture 330 in the pixel removal region. The substrate may be removed by etching (e.g., using a laser). Alternatively, the substrate may be patterned to have an aperture in the high-transmittance area 324 during the original substrate formation step. Removing the substrate 300 in the high-transmittance area 324 may result in additional light transmittance in the high-transmittance area 324. The polyimide aperture 328 and the substrate aperture 330 may be considered to form a single, integrated aperture. When removing the polyimide layer 302 and / or a portion of the substrate 300, the inorganic buffer layer 303 may function as an etch stop for the etching step. The openings 328 and 330 may be filled with air or another desired transparent filler.

[0045] In addition to having an opening in the cathode 306-3, the polyimide layer 302 and / or the substrate 300, the polarizer 312 in the display may be decolorized for additional transmittance in the pixel removal region.

[0046] Figure 5 is a plan view of an exemplary display showing how a high-transmittance area may be incorporated into the pixel-removed area 332 of the display. As shown in the figure, the display may contain multiple pixels. In Figure 5, there are multiple red pixels (R), multiple blue pixels (B), and multiple green pixels (G). The red, blue, and green pixels may be arranged in any desired pattern. Different nomenclature may be used to refer to the red, green, and blue pixels in the display. One option is that the red, blue, and green pixels may simply be called pixels. Another option is that the red, blue, and green pixels may instead be called red subpixels, blue subpixels, and green subpixels (or emitting subpixels). In this example, a group of subpixels of different colors may be called pixels. The high-transmittance area 324 does not contain subpixels in the display (where subpixels would normally be present if following a normal subpixel pattern).

[0047] To provide a uniform distribution of subpixels across the surface of the display, an intelligent pixel removal process may be implemented that systematically removes the nearest subpixels of the same color (e.g., the nearest neighbors of the same color may be removed). The pixel removal process may include, for each color, selecting a given subpixel, identifying the closest or nearest neighbor subpixels of the same color (with respect to the distance from the selected subpixel), and then removing / omitting these identified subpixels in the final pixel removal area. This type of configuration is obtained by having a high-transmittance area in the pixel removal area, allowing a sensor or light-emitting component to operate through the display in the pixel removal area. Additionally, since some of the pixels (e.g., 50% of the pixels in the layout of Figure 5) remain in the pixel removal area, the pixel removal area may not have a perceptually different appearance to the viewer from the rest of the display.

[0048] As shown in Figure 5, the display 14 may include high-transmittance areas 324. Each high-transmittance area 324 may have pixels removed within its area. Each high-transmittance area also has increased transparency compared to the pixel area 322. The high-transmittance areas 324 may also be called transparent windows 324, transparent display windows 324, transparent apertures 324, transparent display apertures 324, etc. A transparent display window can allow light to pass through the display to a sensor below, or light to pass through the display from a light source below the display. The transparency of the transparent aperture 324 (to visible and / or infrared light) may be greater than 25%, greater than 30%, greater than 40%, greater than 50%, greater than 60%, greater than 70%, greater than 80%, greater than 90%, etc. The transparency of the transparent aperture 324 may be higher than the transparency of the pixel area 322. The transparency of the pixel area 322 may be less than 25%, less than 20%, less than 10%, less than 5%, etc. The pixel region 322 is sometimes called the opaque display region 322, opaque region 322, or opaque area 322. The opaque region 322 includes light-emitting pixels R, G, and B and blocks light from passing through the display.

[0049] The patterns of pixels (322) and high-transmittance areas (324) in Figure 5 are for illustrative purposes only. The patterns of subpixels and pixel removal areas in Figure 5 are also for illustrative purposes only. In Figure 5, the edges of the display may be parallel to the X-axis or Y-axis. The front of the display may be parallel to the XY plane so that the user of the device views the front of the display in the Z direction. In Figure 5, every other subpixel may be removed for each color. The resulting pixel configuration has 50% of the subpixels removed. In Figure 5, the remaining pixels follow a zigzag pattern across the display (with two green subpixels for every one red or blue subpixel). In Figure 5, the subpixels have edges that are at an angle to the edges of the display (for example, the edges of the subpixels are at non-zero, non-orthogonal angles with respect to the X and Y axes). This example is for illustrative purposes only. If desired, for example, each individual subpixel may have an edge parallel to the edge of the display, different proportions of pixels may be removed for different colors, and the remaining pixels may follow different patterns.

[0050] In general, display subpixels may be partially removed from any area(s) of the display 14. Figures 6A to 6F are front views showing how the display 14 may have one or more local pixel-deleted areas in which subpixels are selectively removed. The embodiment in Figure 6A shows various local pixel-deleted areas 332 (sometimes called low-pixel-density areas or high-transmittance areas 332) that are physically separate from each other (i.e., the various pixel-deleted areas 332 are not contiguous) by a full-pixel-density area 334. The full-pixel-density area 334 (sometimes called a full-pixel-density area 334) does not contain any transparent windows 324 (for example, no subpixels are removed and the display follows the pixel pattern without modification). The full-pixel-density area 334 has a higher pixel density (pixels per unit area) than the low-pixel-density areas 332. The three pixel removal regions 332-1, 332-2, and 332-3 in Figure 6A correspond to, for example, three different sensors formed below the display 14 (one sensor per pixel removal region).

[0051] The embodiment in Figure 6B shows a continuous pixel removal area 332 formed along the upper boundary of the display 14, which may be suitable when there are many optical sensors located near the upper edge of the device 10. The embodiment in Figure 6C shows a pixel removal area 332 formed at the corners of the display 14 (e.g., the rounded corner area of ​​the display). In some configurations, the corners of the display 14 where the pixel removal area 332 is located may be rounded corners (as in Figure 6C) or corners with substantially 90° angles. The embodiment in Figure 6D shows a pixel removal area 332 formed only in the central portion along the upper edge of the device 10 (i.e., the pixel removal area covers the concave notch area in the display). Figure 6E shows another embodiment in which the pixel removal area 332 may have different shapes and sizes. Figure 6F shows yet another preferred example in which the pixel removal area extends across the entire surface of the display. These embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of these embodiments. If desired, one or more portions of the display that overlap with an optical-based sensor or other sub-display electrical component may be designated as pixel removal regions / areas.

[0052] Figure 5 shows an example of a pixel deletion region in a display where several subpixels have been removed to create a transparent aperture. Figure 5 shows the layout of the subpixels within the pixel deletion region. Note that these layouts are for the light-emitting layer of each subpixel.

[0053] Each display pixel 22 may include both a thin-film transistor layer and a light-emitting layer. Each light-emitting layer portion may have associated circuits on the thin-film transistor layer that control the magnitude of the light emitted from that portion. Both the light-emitting layer and the thin-film transistor layer may have corresponding subpixels within the pixel. Each subpixel may be associated with light of a different color (e.g., red, green, and blue). A light-emitting layer portion for a given subpixel does not necessarily have to occupy the same area as its associated thin-film transistor layer portion. Hereinafter, the term subpixel may be used to refer to a combination of a light-emitting layer portion and a thin-film transistor layer portion. Additionally, a thin-film transistor layer may be referred to as having thin-film transistor subpixels (e.g., a thin-film transistor layer pixel, thin-film transistor layer subpixel, or simply a subpixel, which are portions of a thin-film transistor layer that control individual light-emitting areas), and a light-emitting layer may be referred to as having light-emitting layer subpixels (e.g., a light-emitting pixel, light-emitting subpixel, or simply a subpixel).

[0054] Figure 7 is a plan view of the display 14 showing light-emitting subpixels and thin-film transistor subpixels located in both the pixel removal area 332 and the full pixel density area 334. As shown in Figure 7, the thin-film transistor subpixels 102 are arranged in rows. Each thin-film transistor subpixel 102 controls the brightness of an individual light-emitting subpixel 104. In Figure 7, red light-emitting subpixels are identified using the label "R", blue light-emitting subpixels are identified using the label "B", and green light-emitting subpixels are identified using the label "G".

[0055] In the full pixel density area 334, the light-emitting subpixels 104 are arranged according to a pattern. In the pixel removal area 332, half of the thin-film transistor subpixels and light-emitting subpixels are removed relative to the full pixel density area 334. The patterns of the thin-film transistor subpixels and light-emitting subpixels in Figure 7 are for illustrative purposes only. In general, any desired pattern may be used for both the full pixel density area 334 and the pixel removal area 332.

[0056] In some configurations, the number of pixels per unit area in region 332 may be the same as that in region 334, and one or more other modifications may be made to region 332 compared to region 334 in order to increase the transmittance of light passing through region 332 compared to region 334. For example, the area occupied by the light-emitting subpixels 104 and / or thin-film transistor subpixels 102 may be reduced in region 332 compared to region 334. Thus, even if the number of pixels in region 332 is the same as in region 334, the transmittance passing through region 332 may increase compared to region 334. Region 332 may therefore be called the high-transmittance region 332, the increased-transmittance region 332, etc. Region 334 may be called the normal-transmittance region 334, the low-transmittance region 334, etc.

[0057] One possible modification that may be used to improve the transmittance (and, correspondingly, transparency) in region 332 is to use a transparent conductor instead of an opaque conductor. The display 14 may have various conductive signal lines, such as power lines, data lines, and gate lines. It may be desirable to form the conductive signal lines from an opaque material. However, opaque signal lines may undesirably reduce the transmittance in region 332. Therefore, a portion of the signal lines in region 332 may be formed from a transparent conductive material.

[0058] As shown in Figure 7, data lines D can extend vertically across the display through both the full-density pixel area 334 and the pixel removal area 332. To increase transmittance in the pixel removal area 332, each data line has a first portion 106-1, a second portion 106-2, and a third portion 106-3. Portions 106-1 and 106-3 (overlapping with the full-density pixel area 334) are formed from an opaque material (e.g., aluminum, copper, etc.), while portion 106-2 is formed from a transparent material (e.g., indium tin oxide). Portions 106-1 and 106-3 are shown in Figure 7 using solid lines, while portion 106-2 is shown in Figure 7 using a dashed line. Portions 106-1 and 106-3 may have transparency levels such as less than 20%, less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 3%, and less than 1%. Part 106-2 may have transparency levels of over 80%, over 90%, over 95%, over 99%, etc.

[0059] Figure 8 is a plan view of an exemplary display having signal lines with transparent portions. As shown in Figure 8, the display 14 includes an active area AA (sometimes called a light-emitting area or pixel area) having a high-transmittance area 332 that is laterally surrounded by a normal area 334.

[0060] The display driver circuit 30 supplies data signals to data lines D that extend across the entire active area. Each data line is coupled to an individual row of display pixels in the active area. As shown in Figure 8, the data line D has an opaque portion 106-1 formed above the pixel removal region 332 (for example, so that the pixel removal region 332 is interposed between the opaque portion 106-1 and the display driver circuit 30), a transparent portion 106-2 that overlaps with the pixel removal region 332, and an opaque portion 106-3 formed below the pixel removal region 332 (for example, so that the opaque portion 106-3 is interposed between the pixel removal region 332 and the display driver circuit 30).

[0061] By using a transparent material for the signal lines in the high-transmittance region 332 (as shown in Figures 7 and 8), the transmittance of the high-transmittance region 332 can be increased to the desired level. However, the transparent portion 106-2 of the signal line may have a higher resistance than the opaque portions 106-1 and 106-3. In the opaque portions 106-1 and 106-3 of the signal line, the resistance is low enough that its impact on display performance is negligible. However, the transparent portion 106-2 of the signal line may have a resistance high enough to cause fluctuations in the settling time and brightness of the display.

[0062] To mitigate the problems caused by the increased resistance of the transparent signal line portion 106-2 to the opaque signal line portions 106-1 and 106-3, the configuration of Figure 9 may be used. In Figure 9, just as in Figure 8, each data line D passing through region 332 has a first opaque portion 106-1 above the pixel removal region 332, a transparent portion 106-2 within the pixel removal region 332, and a second opaque portion 106-3 below the pixel removal region 332. However, in Figure 9, each data line passing through region 332 additionally has a supplementary opaque portion 106-4.

[0063] As shown in Figure 9, the supplemental opacity portion 106-4 is routed around the pixel removal region to electrically connect opacity portions 106-3 and 106-1. In other words, the supplemental opacity portion 106-4 forms an electrically parallel path to the transparent portion 106-2 between opacity portions 106-3 and 106-1. Portions 106-2 and 106-4 are electrically connected in parallel between portions 106-1 and 106-3. The supplemental opacity portion 106-4 may be formed from the same material as opacity portions 106-1 and 106-3, if desired. As shown in Figure 9, the opacity portion 106-4 is routed through the full pixel density region 334 of the active area of ​​the display.

[0064] The supplemental opacity portion 106-4 is electrically connected to opacity portion 106-3 via electrical connection 108-1. The supplemental opacity portion 106-4 is electrically connected to opacity portion 108-1 via electrical connection 106-2. The active area of ​​the display may be surrounded by an inactive area (sometimes called a non-emitting area). For each data line, one electrical connection 108-1 and one 108-2 may be located within the active area AA or the inactive area IA. In the example in Figure 9, all electrical connections 108-1 are located within the active area of ​​the display. The three leftmost electrical connections 108-2 in Figure 9 are located within the active area of ​​the display. The rightmost electrical connection 108-2 in Figure 9 is located within the inactive area of ​​the display.

[0065] In Figure 9, the supplemental data line portion 106-4 has two horizontal portions (extending parallel to the X-axis) and one vertical portion between the two horizontal portions (extending parallel to the Y-axis). This example is merely illustrative, and generally, the supplemental data line portion 106-4 may have any desired path between portions 106-1 and 106-3.

[0066] If desired, some or all of the supplemental data line portions 106-4 may be routed through inactive area IA instead of active area AA.

[0067] Opaque data line portions 106-1 and 106-3 may be formed from a first metal layer within the display 14. In other words, opaque data line portions 106-1 and 106-3 may be formed during the same patterning process (e.g., using the same mask). Opaque data line portions 106-1 and 106-3 may also be formed during the same patterning process (e.g., using the same mask) as those for data lines that do not pass through region 332. Some or all of the supplemental data line portions 106-4 may be formed from the first metal layer. Alternatively or in addition, some or all of the supplemental data line portions 106-4 may be formed from a second metal layer within the display 14.

[0068] As one specific example, for a given data line, the two horizontal portions of portion 106-4 may be formed from a second metal layer, and portions 106-1 and 106-3 and the vertical portion of portion 106-4 may be formed from a first metal layer. To ensure electrical connectivity between the various portions of the data line, conductive vias can be used to electrically connect the first and second metal layers as needed. For example, vias may be formed at electrical connections 108-1 and 108-2. Vias may also be optionally formed at electrical connection 108-3 between the first horizontal portion of the supplemental data line portion 106-4 and the vertical portion of the supplemental data line portion 106-4, and at electrical connection 108-4 between the second horizontal portion of the supplemental data line portion 106-4 and the vertical portion of the supplemental data line portion 106-4.

[0069] The sheet resistance of the material used to form signal line portion 106-2 may be greater than the sheet resistance of the material(s) used to form signal line portions 106-1, 106-3 and / or 106-4 (e.g., at least 10 times greater, at least 50 times greater, at least 100 times greater, at least 200 times greater, at least 300 times greater, at least 400 times greater, etc.).

[0070] Data lines that do not overlap with the pixel removal region 332 may be formed from the same material as the opaque portions 106-1, 106-3 and / or 106-4. In other words, data lines that do not overlap with the pixel removal region 332 may be completely opaque.

[0071] Figure 10 shows a graph of the settling time (for example, for pixels in a row at a given position) as a function of position across the display for the data lines in both Figures 8 and 9. The position axis reflects the position along the Y direction from the lower edge (P1) of the display adjacent to the display driver circuit to the upper edge (P4) of the display. The area occupied by the pixel removal region 332 is defined at the lower edge by position P2 and at the upper edge by position P3.

[0072] In Figure 10, profile 110 shows the data line settling time in the display of Figure 8, which has a transparent portion 106-2 that overlaps with the pixel removal region 332. Profile 112 shows the data line settling time in the display of Figure 9, which has a transparent portion 106-2 that overlaps with the pixel removal region 332 and an opaque portion 106-4 that electrically connects portions 106-1 and 106-3 on the opposite side of the pixel removal region.

[0073] The settling time of profile 110 can be t1 between P1 and P2. This corresponds to portion 106-3 of the data line, which is formed from an opaque, low-resistance material. Since portion 106-3 of the data line has low resistance, the settling times between positions P1 and P2 are uniform, zero, or nearly zero (e.g., less than 1 nanosecond). However, due to the increasing resistance of the transparent portion 106-2, the settling time increases from position P2 to position P3 (within the pixel removal region 332). The settling time reaches a maximum value t3 at the upper edge of the pixel removal region (e.g., at P3). The settling time then remains nearly constant between P3 and P4 due to the low-resistance material used for portion 106-1 of the data line.

[0074] Similar to profile 110, the settling time for profile 112 can be t1 between P1 and P2. However, in Figure 9, opaque data line portion 106-1 is electrically connected to opaque data line portion 106-3 by a supplementary data line portion 106-4. Therefore, a low-resistance path exists between the display driver circuit 30 and opaque portion 106-1 (through the supplementary portion 106-4). The settling times between positions P1 and P2, and between positions P3 and P4, are both uniform and equal to t1 (e.g., zero or nearly zero). Within the pixel removal region, the settling time gradually increases from the lower edge (P2) of the pixel removal region toward the center of the pixel removal region, and from the upper edge (P3) of the pixel removal region toward the center of the pixel removal region. The settling time reaches a maximum value of t2 at the center of the pixel removal region.

[0075] Therefore, using the data line arrangement in Figure 9 for data lines with transparent portions in the pixel removal area 332 results in a shorter maximum settling time (t2) than when using the data line arrangement in Figure 8 (which has a maximum settling time t3). In Figure 9, the maximum settling time is also located at the center of the pixel removal area (rather than at the edge of the pixel removal area), which can make the increase in settling time less noticeable. Also, in contrast to the data line arrangement in Figure 8, when the data line arrangement in Figure 9 is used, there is no increase in settling time in the pixel rows above the pixel removal area.

[0076] Changes in settling time caused by the high-resistance transparent material for signal lines in the pixel removal region 332 can lead to corresponding changes in luminance.

[0077] Figure 11 shows a graph of the change in luminance as a function of position across the display for data lines in both Figures 8 and 9 (for example, for pixels in a row at a given position). The position axis reflects the position along the Y direction from the lower edge of the display adjacent to the display driver circuit (P1) to the upper edge of the display (P4). The area occupied by the pixel removal region 332 is defined at the lower edge by position P2 and at the upper edge by position P3.

[0078] In Figure 11, profile 114 shows the change in luminance for data lines in the display of Figure 8, which has a transparent portion 106-2 that overlaps with the pixel removal region 332. Profile 116 shows the change in luminance for data lines in the display of Figure 9, which has a transparent portion 106-2 that overlaps with the pixel removal region 332 and an opaque portion 106-4 that electrically connects portions 106-1 and 106-3 on the opposite side of the pixel removal region.

[0079] The luminance change of profile 114 may be 0% (or nearly 0%) between P1 and P2. This corresponds to the data line portion 106-3, which is formed from an opaque, low-resistance material. Since the data line portion 106-3 has low resistance, the luminance change between positions P1 and P2 is uniform, zero, or nearly zero (e.g., less than 1%). However, due to the increasing resistance of the transparent portion 106-2, the luminance change increases from position P2 to position P3 (within the pixel removal region 332). The luminance change reaches a maximum value ΔL2 at the upper edge of the pixel removal region (e.g., at P3). The luminance change then remains nearly constant between P3 and P4 due to the low-resistance material used for the data line portion 106-1.

[0080] Similar to profile 114, the luminance change of profile 116 can be 0% between P1 and P2. However, in Figure 9, opaque data line portion 106-1 is electrically connected to opaque data line portion 106-3 by supplementary data line portion 106-4. Therefore, a low-resistance path exists between the display driver circuit 30 and opaque portion 106-1 (through supplementary portion 106-4). The luminance changes between positions P1 and P2, and between positions P3 and P4, are both uniform and equal to 0%. Within the pixel removal region, the luminance change gradually increases from the lower edge (P2) of the pixel removal region toward the center, and from the upper edge (P3) of the pixel removal region toward the center. The luminance change reaches a maximum value ΔL1 at the center of the pixel removal region.

[0081] Therefore, using the data line configuration of Figure 9 (with a maximum luminance change ΔL2) for data lines with transparent portions in the pixel removal area 332 results in a smaller maximum luminance change (ΔL1) than when using the data line configuration of Figure 8. The maximum luminance change is also located at the center of the pixel removal area (rather than at the edge of the pixel removal area), which can make the luminance change less noticeable. In addition, in contrast to the data line configuration of Figure 8, when the data line configuration of Figure 9 is used, there is no increase in luminance change in the pixel rows above the pixel removal area.

[0082] Figure 12 is a plan view of the pixel removal region 332. As mentioned above, the pixel removal region 332 may include rows of thin-film transistor subpixels 102. The thin-film transistor subpixels 102 may be opaque or nearly opaque. Therefore, having opaque signal lines overlapping with the thin-film transistor subpixels does not adversely affect the overall transmittance of light passing through the pixel removal region 332.

[0083] The data line D in the pixel removal region may have a transparent portion 106-2 and an opaque portion 106-5. The transparent portion 106-2 may be formed in a portion of the pixel removal region 332 that does not overlap with the area occupied by any thin-film transistor subpixel (for example, overlapping with the gap between adjacent rows of thin-film transistor subpixels). The opaque portion 106-5 may be formed in a portion of the pixel removal region 332 that overlaps with the area occupied by a thin-film transistor subpixel. As described above, the transparent portion 106-2 may be formed from a transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide. The portion 106-2 may have a transparency of greater than 80%, greater than 90%, greater than 95%, greater than 99%, etc. The opaque portion 106-5 may be formed from an opaque material (for example, aluminum, copper, etc.) and may have a transparency of less than 20%, less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 3%, less than 1%, etc.

[0084] The opaque portions 106-5 can be electrically connected to the transparent portions 106-2 at the electrical connections 108. Each electrical connection 108 may optionally include conductive vias.

[0085] Including opaque portions on top of thin-film transistor subpixels can suitably reduce the overall resistance of signal lines within the pixel removal region 332 (without any adverse effect on the transparency of the pixel removal region). The concept in Figure 12 can be applied to the configuration in Figure 9 (which includes supplemental data line portions 106-4) or the arrangement in Figure 8 (which does not include supplemental data line portions) (and may improve their display performance).

[0086] Figures 13 and 14 are side cross-sectional views of an exemplary display having data lines with transparent conductive portions. As shown in Figure 13, the display 14 includes one or more substrate layers, such as substrates 120 and 122; a first metal layer 138 formed on the substrates; a second metal layer 136 formed on the first metal layer; a transparent conductive layer 134 formed on the second metal layer 136; and an anode 132 (e.g., an electrode forming part of an individual pixel 22) formed on the transparent conductive layer 134. One or more dielectric layers may be interposed between the various conductive layers in the display. Figure 13 shows a first dielectric layer 124 between the metal layers 136 and 136; a second dielectric layer 126 between the metal layer 138 and the transparent conductive layer 134; a third dielectric layer 128 between the transparent conductive layer 134 and the anode 132; and a fourth dielectric layer 130 (sometimes called a pixel definition layer) formed above the anode 132. The pixel definition layer 130 can define the light emission aperture for the pixel associated with the anode 132.

[0087] The opaque portions 106-1 and 106-3 of each data line may be formed from a metal layer 136 (sometimes called SD2). The transparent portion 106-2 of each data line may be formed from a transparent conductive layer 134. The horizontal portion of the opaque data line portion 106-4 may be formed from a metal layer 138 (sometimes called SD1). The vertical portion of the opaque data line portion 106-4 may be formed from a metal layer 136.

[0088] In Figure 13, the transparent conductive layer 134 is formed above the metal layer 136 (for example, between the metal layer 136 and the anode 132). This example is merely illustrative. In another possible configuration shown in Figure 14, the transparent conductive layer 134 is formed below the metal layer 136. In this example, the transparent conductive layer 134 is formed below the metal layer 138 between the substrate layers 120 and 122. The metal layer 138 may electrically connect the metal layer 136 to the transparent conductive layer 134. The metal layer 138 may have via portions that extend through the substrate layer 122 (sometimes called the dielectric layer 122) to directly contact the transparent conductive layer 134.

[0089] The examples in Figures 13 and 14 are merely illustrative. In general, the transparent conductive layer can be located at any desired position within the display stack.

[0090] It should be noted that the above configuration can be applied to any desired signal lines within the display (e.g., data lines, as well as gate lines and / or power supply lines).

[0091] According to one embodiment, an electronic device comprising a display having an array of pixels and a plurality of data lines for the array of pixels, wherein a given data line among the plurality of data lines comprises a first opaque portion, a second opaque portion, a transparent portion interposed between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion and electrically connected, and a third opaque portion routed through the array of pixels to electrically connect the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion. Electronic devices are provided to equip them.

[0092] According to another embodiment, the first opaque portion extends in a first direction, the second opaque portion extends in a first direction, and the transparent portion extends in a first direction.

[0093] According to another embodiment, the third opaque portion has a first portion and a second portion extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a third portion extending in the first direction.

[0094] According to another embodiment, the first portion of the third opaque portion is electrically connected to the first opaque portion, the second portion of the third opaque portion is electrically connected to the second opaque portion, and the third portion of the third opaque portion extends between the first and second portions of the third opaque portion.

[0095] According to another embodiment, the display has an active area and an inactive area, the first portion of a third opaque portion being electrically connected to the first opaque portion in the active area, and the second portion of the third opaque portion being electrically connected to the second opaque portion in the active area.

[0096] According to another embodiment, the display has an active area and an inactive area, the first portion of a third opaque portion being electrically connected to the first opaque portion in the active area, and the second portion of the third opaque portion being electrically connected to the second opaque portion in the inactive area.

[0097] According to another embodiment, the first opaque portion, the second opaque portion, and the third opaque portion are formed from a first material, and the transparent portion is formed from a second material different from the first material.

[0098] According to another embodiment, the first material has a first sheet resistance, and the second material has a second sheet resistance, the second sheet resistance being at least 100 times greater than the first sheet resistance.

[0099] According to another embodiment, the transparent portion is formed from indium tin oxide.

[0100] According to another embodiment, the electronic device comprises input / output components, and the display has a first region and a second region, the first region having higher transparency than the second region, and the first region overlapping with the input / output components.

[0101] In another embodiment, the input / output component is a camera.

[0102] In another embodiment, the input / output component is a light emission device.

[0103] According to another embodiment, the transparent portion is formed in the first region.

[0104] According to another embodiment, the first opaque portion, the second opaque portion, and the third opaque portion are formed in the second region.

[0105] According to another embodiment, the first region has opposing first and second sides and is laterally surrounded by the second region, the first opaque portion is formed in the second region on the first side of the first region, the second opaque portion is formed in the second region on the second side of the first region, and the third opaque portion is routed around the first region, through the second region, between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion.

[0106] According to another embodiment, the first region has a first pixel density, and the second region has a second pixel density that is greater than the first pixel density.

[0107] According to one embodiment, an electronic device is provided, comprising an input / output component and a display having an array of pixels and signal lines, wherein the display has a first region and a second region, the first region having higher transparency than the second region, the first region overlapping with the input / output component, and one of the signal lines comprising a first opaque portion formed on a first side of the first region, a second opaque portion formed on a second side opposite to the first region, a transparent portion extending between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion, and a third opaque portion extending between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion.

[0108] According to another embodiment, the electronic device comprises a display driver circuit configured to provide data to signal lines and formed adjacent to an array of pixels, with a first opaque portion interposed between the first region and the display driver circuit.

[0109] According to one embodiment, an electronic device is provided comprising a display, the display being an array of pixels, each pixel having an emitting subpixel and a thin-film transistor subpixel, the array of pixels having a first region having a first pixel density and a second region having a second pixel density greater than the first pixel density, the first region having rows of thin-film transistor subpixels, and signal lines having a plurality of opaque portions overlapping the rows of thin-film transistor subpixels and a plurality of transparent portions extending between adjacent rows of thin-film transistor subpixels.

[0110] According to another embodiment, the electronic device comprises input / output components, and the first region overlaps with the input / output components.

[0111] The above are merely illustrative examples, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The embodiments described above may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising a display having an array of pixels and a plurality of data lines for the array of pixels, wherein a given data line among the plurality of data lines is The first opaque part, The second opaque part, A transparent portion interposed between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion, and electrically connected thereto, A third opaque portion routed through the array of pixels to electrically connect the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion, An electronic device equipped with the following features.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first opaque portion extends in a first direction, the second opaque portion extends in the first direction, and the transparent portion extends in the first direction.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the third opaque portion has a first portion and a second portion extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a third portion extending in the first direction.

4. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the first portion of the third opaque portion is electrically connected to the first opaque portion, the second portion of the third opaque portion is electrically connected to the second opaque portion, and the third portion of the third opaque portion extends between the first and second portions of the third opaque portion.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the display has an active area and an inactive area including the array of pixels, the first portion of the third opaque portion is electrically connected to the first opaque portion in the active area, and the second portion of the third opaque portion is electrically connected to the second opaque portion in the active area.

6. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the display has an active area and an inactive area including the array of pixels, the first portion of the third opaque portion is electrically connected to the first opaque portion in the active area, and the second portion of the third opaque portion is electrically connected to the second opaque portion in the inactive area.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first opaque portion, the second opaque portion, and the third opaque portion are formed from a first material, and the transparent portion is formed from a second material different from the first material.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the first material has a first sheet resistance, and the second material has a second sheet resistance, the second sheet resistance being at least 100 times greater than the first sheet resistance.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the transparent portion is formed from indium tin oxide.

10. The display further comprises input / output components, and the display has a first region and a second region, the first region having higher transparency than the second region, and the first region overlapping with the input / output components. The electronic device according to claim 1.

11. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the input / output component is a camera.

12. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the input / output component is a light emission device.

13. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the transparent portion is formed in the first region.

14. The electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the first opaque portion, the second opaque portion, and the third opaque portion are formed in the second region.

15. The electronic device according to claim 13, wherein the first region has opposing first and second sides and is laterally surrounded by the second region, the first opaque portion is formed in the second region on the first side of the first region, the second opaque portion is formed in the second region on the second side of the first region, and the third opaque portion is routed around the first region, through the second region, between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion.

16. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the first region has a first pixel density, and the second region has a second pixel density greater than the first pixel density.

17. It is an electronic device, Input / output components and A display comprising a pixel array and signal lines, wherein the display has a first region and a second region, the first region having higher transparency than the second region, the first region overlapping with the input / output components, and one of the signal lines is A first opaque portion formed on the first side of the first region, A second opaque portion formed on the second side opposite to the first region, A transparent portion extending between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion, A third opaque portion extending between the first opaque portion and the second opaque portion, An electronic device equipped with the following features.

18. The system further comprises a display driver circuit configured to provide data to the signal line and formed adjacent to the pixel array, wherein the first opaque portion is interposed between the first region and the display driver circuit. The electronic device according to claim 17.

19. An electronic device having a display, wherein the display is An array of pixels, each pixel having a light-emitting subpixel and a thin-film transistor subpixel, the array of pixels comprising a first region having a first pixel density and a second region having a second pixel density greater than the first pixel density, the first region having rows of thin-film transistor subpixels, A signal line having a plurality of opaque portions overlapping the row of the thin-film transistor subpixel, and a plurality of transparent portions extending between adjacent rows of the thin-film transistor subpixel, An electronic device equipped with the following features.

20. The system further comprises input / output components, and the first region overlaps with the input / output components. The electronic device according to claim 19.

Images