Ultrasonic sensor and display device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11216634-B2
Application number	US-202017107746-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2020
Priority date	Dec 2, 2019
Publication date	Jan 4, 2022
Grant date	Jan 4, 2022

Abstract

An ultrasonic sensor and a display device and may drive a plurality of sensing pixels disposed in the ultrasonic sensor simultaneously to transmit an ultrasonic wave, may make a first electrode disposed in a sensing pixel to be floated at a timing receiving a reflected signal to store the signal, and then may perform a sensing sequentially. Therefore, as an accurate sensing may be possible while reducing a duration and a number of an ultrasonic wave transmitting, a sensitivity and an accuracy of a sensing may be maintained while improving a driving efficiency of the ultrasonic sensor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An ultrasonic sensor, comprising:
a pixel array which a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of sensing lines and a plurality of sensing pixels are disposed;
a plurality of first electrodes disposed in each of the plurality of sensing pixels;
a piezoelectric material disposed on the first electrode; and
a second electrode disposed on the piezoelectric material,
wherein a first driving voltage is simultaneously supplied to the plurality of first electrodes in a first period, and a second driving voltage is supplied to the second electrode in the first period,
in a state that a supply of the second driving voltage to the second electrode is stopped in a second period, a supply of the first driving voltage to the first electrode is stopped at a preset timing in the second period, and
a sensing signal is detected from the sensing pixel in a third period.

2. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 1 , wherein a scan signal of a level to turn on a thin film transistor electrically connected to each of the plurality of scan lines is simultaneously supplied to the plurality of the scan lines in the first period.

3. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 1 , wherein in a state that a scan signal of a level to turn on a thin film transistor electrically connected to each of the plurality of scan lines is supplied to the plurality of scan lines in the second period, a scan signal of a level to turn off the thin film transistor electrically connected to each of the plurality of scan lines is simultaneously supplied to the plurality of scan lines.

4. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 1 , wherein a scan signal of a level to turn on a thin film transistor electrically connected to each of the plurality of scan lines is sequentially supplied to the plurality of scan lines in the third period.

5. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 1 , wherein the first driving voltage is a constant voltage, and the second driving voltage is an alternating current voltage.

6. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 1 , wherein the first driving voltage is a voltage of a level to turn on a thin film transistor controlled by a voltage level of the first electrode.

7. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 1 , wherein a reset voltage is supplied to the first electrode disposed in the sensing pixel in at least a part of the third period, and an absolute value of a level of the reset voltage is smaller than an absolute value of a level of the first driving voltage.

8. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 7 , wherein the reset voltage is supplied after the sensing signal is detected from the sensing pixel.

9. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 1 , wherein a constant voltage is supplied to the second electrode in the third period.

10. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of sensing pixels comprises:
a first thin film transistor controlled by a scan signal supplied to the scan line, and electrically connected between a first driving voltage line supplying the first driving voltage and the first electrode;
a second thin film transistor controlled by the scan signal supplied to the scan line, and electrically connected to the sensing line; and
a third thin film transistor controlled by a voltage level of the first electrode, and electrically connected between a sensing voltage line supplying a sensing voltage and the second thin film transistor.

11. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 10 , wherein a first sensing voltage is supplied to the sensing voltage line in the first period and at least a part of the second period, and a second sensing voltage is supplied to the sensing voltage line in the third period, and
a level of the first sensing voltage is lower than a level of the second sensing voltage.

12. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 10 , wherein a level of the first driving voltage supplied to the first electrode in the first period is included in a saturation region in a relation graph between the sensing voltage and an output current of the third thin film transistor.

13. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 10 , wherein the first thin film transistor disposed in a sensing pixel of nth line and the second thin film transistor disposed in a sensing pixel of (n+1)th line are electrically connected to same scan line.

14. A display device, comprising:
a display panel; and
an ultrasonic sensor according to claim 1 embedded in the display panel or disposed on at least one surface of the display panel.

15. An ultrasonic sensor, comprising:
a pixel array which a plurality of scan lines, a plurality of sensing lines and a plurality of sensing pixels are disposed;
a plurality of first electrodes disposed in each of the plurality of sensing pixels;
a piezoelectric material disposed on the first electrode; and
a second electrode disposed on the piezoelectric material,
wherein a second driving voltage is supplied to the second electrode in a part of a period that a first driving voltage is simultaneously supplied to the plurality of first electrode, and then a sensing signal is detected from the plurality of sensing pixels, and
a period that the plurality of first electrodes are in a floating state is present between a period that the second driving voltage is supplied and a period that the sensing signal is detected.

16. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 15 , wherein a period that the second electrode is in a floating state is present in at least a part of a period that the plurality of first electrodes are in a floating state.

17. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 15 , wherein a constant voltage is supplied to the second electrode in a period that the plurality of first electrodes are in a floating state.

18. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 15 , wherein a scan signal of a level to turn on a thin film transistor electrically connected to each of the plurality of scan lines is simultaneously supplied to the plurality of scan lines in a period that the first driving voltage is supplied, and
a scan signal of a level to turn on the thin film transistor electrically connected to each of the plurality of scan lines is sequentially supplied to the plurality of scan lines in a period that the sensing signal is detected.

19. The ultrasonic sensor of claim 15 , wherein a reset voltage having a different level from the first driving voltage is supplied to the first electrode after detecting the sensing signal from the sensing pixel.

Assignees

• Lg Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Choi Yongkyun
• Kim Kiduk
• Cho Jiho
• Han Manhyeop
• Lee Junghoon

Classifications

• B06B1/0662 Primary

  with an electrode on the sensitive surface · CPC title

• G06V40/1306

  non-optical, e.g. ultrasonic or capacitive sensing · CPC title

• G06F3/0414

  using force sensing means to determine a position · CPC title

• B06B2201/56

  Foil type, e.g. PVDF · CPC title

• G06V40/1359

  Extracting features related to ridge properties; Determining the fingerprint type, e.g. whorl or loop · CPC title