Under-Display Pixel Layout With Transparent Openings for Sensor Light
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic devices with full-face displays face challenges in sensor performance due to low light transmission through the display stack, limiting the effectiveness of under-display sensors such as cameras and ambient light sensors.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a display with both full and partial pixel density regions, where the partial region includes high-transmittance areas devoid of thin-film transistors and emissive sub-pixels, and shorting emissive sub-pixels together to increase light transmission, along with removing additional display components like cathodes and substrates to enhance sensor performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If sensors are placed under the display stack in a full-face display device, then the device achieves a borderless display appearance, but the light transmission to the sensor is severely limited (less than 20% in the visible spectrum)
Solution Approach 1:
The display is segmented into full pixel density regions and partial pixel density regions. The partial pixel density region contains transparent openings that segment the display stack structure to allow light transmission to under-display sensors while maintaining the full-face display appearance in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the display have different pixel density characteristics. The partial pixel density region has reduced pixel density with transparent openings specifically where sensors are located, while other regions maintain full pixel density for optimal display quality. This local differentiation allows sensors to receive sufficient light without compromising overall display performance.
2Illumination intensity
If thin-film transistors and emissive sub-pixels are present in the pixel removal region, then the display maintains full pixel density, but the light transmission through the display stack remains low
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of completely removing all display components from the pixel removal region, the patent removes only the necessary components (thin-film transistors and emissive sub-pixels) while retaining other structures. This partial action achieves sufficient light transmission (greater than 20% in the visible spectrum) while minimizing impact on display uniformity.
3Device complexity
If emissive sub-pixels are shorted together in the pixel removal region, then the number of thin-film transistor sub-pixels is reduced by 50%, but the display resolution in that region is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The display is divided into full pixel density regions and partial pixel density regions. The shorting of emissive sub-pixels is applied only in the partial pixel density region, allowing reduced complexity where sensors are located while maintaining full resolution in the full pixel density region.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions have different structural characteristics. The partial pixel density region uses shorted emissive sub-pixels to reduce complexity and increase light transmission, while the full pixel density region maintains individual emissive sub-pixels for optimal resolution. This local differentiation balances resolution and complexity requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device may include a display and an optical sensor formed underneath the display. The display may have both a full pixel density region and a high-transmittance region that overlaps the optical sensor. To increase the transmittance of light through the high-transmittance region of the display, emissive sub-pixels in the high-transmittance region may be shorted together. Each emissive sub-pixel may be shorted to an emissive sub-pixel of the same color. The emissive sub-pixels in the high-transmittance region of the display may have the same layout but smaller sizes relative to the full pixel density region of the display. The thin-film transistor sub-pixels in the high-transmittance region may be consolidated horizontally and/or vertically to produce larger continuous high-transmittance areas.