JPH0822268A - Liquid crystal driving circuit and liquid crystal display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent degradation in display quality by power source noises and generation of a malfunction by using the internal wirings of liquid crystal driving circuits and an output circuit as delay means and dispersing the output timing of the display output signal with each of the respective liquid crystal driving circuits with lapse of time. CONSTITUTION:Clock pulses TP, the serial image data DATA inputted in synchronization therewith and current alternating signal are successively supplied through the respective liquid crystal driving circuits. The input circuit and internal wiring as well as output circuit of the SDL 1 are, therefore, used as a signal transmission circuit and the signals are transmitted to the SDL 2 of the ensuing stage when the image data is taken into the SDL 1 of the first stage in the liquid crystal driving circuits SDL 1 to 5 on the lower side. At this time, the internal wirings and output circuits are utilized as delay circuits and the input signals transmitted to the SDL 2 are eventually delayed in the relation with the signals DATA, TP, etc., of the signal bus outputted from a control circuit CONT. The display driving currents are dispersedly outputted by each number of the driving circuits.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid crystal drive circuit and a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly to a technique effective for use in a liquid crystal display panel driven by a voltage averaging method using a simple matrix type liquid crystal display panel. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a simple matrix type liquid crystal display panel is driven by a line-sequential type and a voltage averaging method, a selection / non-selection voltage applied to a scanning line electrode and a signal line electrode is
For example, it is a constant voltage as determined by the voltage averaging method as described in JP-A-54-2096.

[0003]

In the signal line drive circuit for driving the liquid crystal display panel of the simple matrix system, the image data captured serially are output in parallel all at once. When the AC signal is inverted for AC drive, the polarities of the display output signals supplied to the signal line electrodes of the liquid crystal display panel are simultaneously inverted. The number of signal lines has increased with the increase in definition and screen size, and the drive current is concentrated on the power supply lines on the mounting board in order for the LCD drive circuit consisting of multiple units to output display output signals almost simultaneously. It will flow and generate a lot of noise. In a liquid crystal display panel, lighting / non-lighting of liquid crystal pixels is controlled by an effective voltage applied to a capacitance at the intersection of a scanning line electrode and a signal line electrode during a 1H period. Therefore, the effective voltage changes due to the occurrence of noise as described above. As a result, there arises a problem that light and shade unevenness of lighting / non-lighting occurs, or other input signals transmitted to the signal line in the mounting substrate are distorted to cause malfunction.

An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal drive circuit and a liquid crystal display device which realize improvement in display quality and stabilization of operation with a simple structure. The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0005]

The outline of a typical one of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows. That is, the liquid crystal drive circuit that captures the image data serially input in synchronization with the clock pulse and outputs the display output signal formed based on the image data serially captured according to the display timing signal in parallel In addition, an output circuit and an output terminal are provided, a plurality of liquid crystal drive circuits are connected in tandem, and the internal wiring and output circuit in the liquid crystal drive circuit are used as delay means to display the output signal of each liquid crystal drive circuit. The output timing is dispersed in time.

[0006]

According to the above-mentioned means, the drive current is temporally dispersed for each liquid crystal drive circuit, so that the peak current value flowing in the power supply line on the mounting board is reduced even in the case of high definition and large screen. As a result, it is possible to prevent the display quality from deteriorating and malfunction due to power supply noise.

[0007]

1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a liquid crystal display device using a liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention. FIG. 1 exemplarily shows a liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal drive circuit for forming a display output signal supplied to its signal line (segment) and its control circuit as a representative, and the scanning necessary for the display of the liquid crystal display panel. The line driving circuit is omitted because it is not directly related to the present invention.

The signal line electrodes, which are extended in the vertical direction of the liquid crystal display panel LCD, are formed in high density for high definition. Therefore, in order to match the pitch of the output terminals of the liquid crystal drive circuit configured by the semiconductor integrated circuit device and the pitch of the signal line electrodes of the liquid crystal display panel LCD, there is no particular limitation, but the signal lines are odd-numbered. The liquid crystal drive circuits that drive even-numbered ones are distributed vertically.

For example, the liquid crystal drive circuit S provided on the lower side
DL1 to SDL5, etc. are arranged to drive odd-numbered signal lines, and liquid crystal drive circuits SDR1 to SDR1 provided on the upper side.
The SDR5 ... Are driven to drive even-numbered signal lines. By allocating the drive circuit above and below the display panel in this way, the pitch of the signal lines of the liquid crystal display panel viewed from the liquid crystal drive circuit can be doubled, and the output terminal of the liquid crystal drive circuit and the liquid crystal display panel LCD connected to it The pitches of the signal lines can be almost matched.

Liquid crystal drive circuits SDL1 to SD of this embodiment
Each of R5 and the like has an input terminal and an output terminal. That is, the image data DATA serially input from the input terminal, the alternating signal, and the clock pulse T
P etc. are supplied. These signals DATA and TP are output as they are through the output circuit and the output terminal.

The liquid crystal display panel LCD has about 600 to 1000 signal lines due to high definition and a large screen, whereas the liquid crystal drive circuit composed of the semiconductor integrated circuit device has 80 to 160 signal lines. You can have only a few output terminals. Therefore, a large number of liquid crystal drive circuits are used to drive one liquid crystal display panel LCD, and the image data DATA serially input for one line is sequentially taken in by each liquid crystal drive circuit. That is, the liquid crystal drive circuit SDL1 (SDR1) at the first stage on the left end of the panel
Becomes valid, and when the capture of the image data DATA corresponding thereto is completed, the liquid crystal drive circuit SDL2 of the next stage is completed.
When (SDR2) becomes valid, the operation of fetching the corresponding image data DATA is repeated.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal driving circuit is not connected in parallel to the input signal line formed on the mounting substrate as in the conventional case, but is sequentially synchronized with the clock pulse TP through each liquid crystal driving circuit. The serial image data DATA that is input after that and the AC signal are supplied.
Therefore, the lower liquid crystal drive circuits SDL1 to SDL5 will be described as an example. When the first stage liquid crystal drive circuit SDL1 captures the serial image data, the liquid crystal drive circuit SDL1.
The input circuit and internal wiring of DL1 and the output circuit are used as a signal transmission path and transmitted to the liquid crystal drive circuit SDL2 of the next stage. At this time, the internal wiring and the output circuit are used as a delay circuit, and the input signal transmitted to the liquid crystal drive circuit SDL2 in the next stage is related to the signal DATA, TP, etc. of the signal bus output from the control circuit CONT. It will be delayed. However, the image data DA
Since the relative time relationship between the TA or AC signal and the clock pulse TP is maintained, there is no hindrance to the capture or display output. Hereinafter, the liquid crystal drive circuit SDL
The input signal is transmitted in the order of 3, SDL4, SDL5 ...
The preceding circuit is operated as a delay circuit.

For this reason, the serially input image data is sequentially shifted by a time corresponding to the delay time in each of the liquid crystal drive circuits SDL1 to SDL5 and the like.
2 to SDL5 and the like, and the display timing TP for performing the parallel output operation is also delayed in the same manner. Therefore, the liquid crystal drive circuit SDL1 in the first stage and the liquid crystal drive circuit SDL2 in the second stage are deviated by the above delay time. ...
A display output signal is output like the liquid crystal drive circuit at the final stage (not shown). This means that the upper liquid crystal drive circuit SD
The same applies to R1 to SDR5 and the like.

As a result, the display drive current is dispersed and output by the number of liquid crystal drive circuits as described above.
Even if the number of signal lines increases due to higher definition and larger screen, the peak currents flowing through the power supply lines on the mounting board are dispersed and flow. As a result, the peak current flowing through the power supply line can be significantly reduced.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a liquid crystal display device using the liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention. In the figure, a liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal drive circuit for forming a display output signal supplied to the signal line thereof and a control circuit thereof are shown as representatives, and a scanning line drive circuit necessary for display of the liquid crystal display panel is shown. Are omitted because they are not directly related to the present invention. Further, as described above, the liquid crystal drive circuit provided on the upper side of the liquid crystal display panel LCD is also omitted.

The liquid crystal drive circuit of this embodiment can have only about 80 to 160 display output signals, whereas the number of signal lines of the driven liquid crystal display panel LCD is high definition and large screen. As a result, the number of liquid crystal driving circuits tends to increase, and the number of liquid crystal driving circuits increases, so that the display output may not be in time for one scanning timing period due to the added delay time. is there. That is, it is necessary to set the delay time for the liquid crystal drive circuit at the final stage with the upper limit of 1/2 of the cycle T of the serial fetch signal of the display data. On the contrary, since the time width of the peak portion of the power supply noise in the conventional circuit is about 20 ns, it is necessary to set the total delay time of the final stage liquid crystal drive circuit to be equal to or larger than this.
In this embodiment, the liquid crystal drive circuit is divided into a plurality of groups in consideration of the number of display outputs and the delay time conditions as described above.

In this embodiment, the liquid crystal drive circuit is divided into an odd-numbered liquid crystal drive circuit and an even-numbered liquid crystal drive circuit. In other words, the image data D output from the control circuit CONT as the first-stage circuits by the liquid crystal drive circuits of the first, third, and fifth stages
The ATA, the clock pulse TP, and the like are taken in parallel. Then, the even-numbered liquid crystal drive circuit SDL
2, SDL4, etc. are the liquid crystal drive circuit SD which is the preceding stage
A delayed signal input through L1, SDL3, etc. is supplied.

In this configuration, the display output timing is divided into two, no matter how the number of liquid crystal drive circuits increases due to the higher definition and the larger screen of the liquid crystal display panel LCD. The upper limit of 1/2 of the cycle T of the serial data capturing signal of data and the lower limit of the time width of the peak portion of the power supply noise can be widened, and the delay time in each liquid crystal drive circuit can be easily set.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of still another embodiment of a liquid crystal display device using the liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention. In this embodiment, an example in which the display output timing is divided into three is shown. That is, three liquid crystal drive circuits SDL1 to SDL1 are provided for each input signal bus.
The SDL 3 and the like are arranged in a column. As a result, the output timing of the liquid crystal drive circuit can be dispersed into three, and the peak current generated in the power supply line can be reduced to about 1/3. Hereinafter, if the number of liquid crystal drive circuits that are similarly arranged in a column is increased, the peak current value flowing through the power supply line is also reduced accordingly, and finally the peak current of the embodiment of FIG. 1 is minimized. However, there is a limit due to the constraint of delay time.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the liquid crystal drive circuit. In this embodiment, the input terminal is provided with an input protection circuit as an input circuit. Signals passed through these protection circuits are supplied to internal logic / drive circuits (drivers) and the like through internal wiring. A buffer (output) circuit is provided in the internal wiring and a function of transmitting a signal from the output terminal is provided. The signal output from the output terminal is delayed with respect to each signal input from the input terminal due to the signal propagation delay time in the internal wiring and the signal propagation delay time in the buffer circuit.

The input protection circuit protects the internal circuit from a steep current coming from the input terminal and destruction due to static electricity, and also stabilizes the shaping and amplitude of the distortion of the input waveform when transmitting a signal to the internal logic and the drive circuit. Turn into That is, the circuit has a role of electrically separating the external wiring from the internal wiring, and it is a common sense to be provided in a semiconductor device in general.

The timing signals supplied from the input terminals are three lines, that is, a line clock signal CL1, a data latch clock signal CL2, and an alternating signal M, which will be described later. The image data DATA is not particularly limited, but is 4 bits. It is regarded as data. Therefore, the total number of input terminals is seven. An input terminal to which a drive voltage generated by a drive voltage generating circuit as described later is input is considered to be a kind of power supply terminal and is therefore omitted in FIG.

The internal logic / driving circuit passes through a line data latch circuit for performing a serial / parallel conversion operation, a level shift circuit for level shifting the output signal of the data latch circuit, and the level shift circuit as described later. It is composed of an output MOSFET (driver) that is driven by an output signal and outputs a drive voltage.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of the liquid crystal drive circuit. In the liquid crystal drive circuit, as shown in FIG. 1, it is often arranged above and below the liquid crystal display panel and provided on the mounting substrate. Therefore, when the input terminal and the output terminal are fixed as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the liquid crystal drive circuit arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the display panel has the input terminal and the output terminal on one side. And are connected in order, and the wiring on the mounting board is minimized.
On the other hand, on the other side, the signal transmission direction and the input terminal and the output terminal are opposite, so that the wiring length formed on the mounting board becomes long and the input side and the output side intersect. .

In this embodiment, bidirectional buffers are provided corresponding to the two sets of input / output terminals so that the input terminals and the output terminals can be used interchangeably. The bidirectional buffer is supplied with the shift direction control signal through the input protection circuit to determine the signal transmission direction. For example, when the shift direction control signal is at a high level, the input / output terminal L is used as an input terminal, and the bidirectional buffer provided corresponding thereto is operated as an input circuit. At this time, the bidirectional buffer operated as an input circuit also functions as the input protection circuit. When the shift direction control signal is at the high level, the bidirectional buffer provided corresponding to the input / output terminal R operates as an output circuit. Therefore, the input / output terminal R is used as an output terminal. With such a configuration, for example, the liquid crystal drive circuit provided on the lower side of FIG. 1 can be operated.

On the contrary, when the shift direction control signal is low level, the input / output terminal R is used as an input terminal, and the bidirectional buffer provided corresponding thereto is operated as an input circuit. At this time, the bidirectional buffer operated as the input circuit also has the function of the input protection circuit as described above. When the shift direction control signal is at the low level, the bidirectional buffer provided corresponding to the input / output terminal L operates as an output circuit. Therefore, the input / output terminal L is used as an output terminal. With such a configuration, for example, the liquid crystal drive circuit provided on the upper side of FIG. 1 can be operated.

With such a structure, the liquid crystal drive circuits can be connected in a tandem manner on the mounting substrate with the shortest distance. Further, since the internal wiring formed in the semiconductor integrated circuit device is used as a signal transmission path, it is possible to reduce the print area formed on the mounting substrate and simplify the wiring layout. It will be possible.

FIG. 6 is an external view of the essential portion of one embodiment of the liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention mounted on a liquid crystal display module. In this embodiment, although not particularly limited, a liquid crystal driving device of tape carrier type is mounted on the liquid crystal display panel and the printed circuit board. The state where the input-side outer lead terminals corresponding to the pixel data and the timing pulse are electrically connected by the wiring layer of the printed circuit board is shown. In this way, the input terminal and the output terminal of the liquid crystal driving circuit formed on the semiconductor chip from a plurality of are sequentially connected.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic overall block diagram of an embodiment of the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention. The liquid crystal display panel control device receives display data from the microprocessor CPU or the like and forms clock pulses CL1 and CL2, display data Din, and a frame signal FLM necessary for the operation of the display panel.

In this embodiment, when the polarity for alternating current is switched every one frame (display period of one screen), polarity inversion is performed at a relatively low frequency, and the flickering of the screen due to alternating current becomes a problem. Become. Therefore, the polarity is switched for each scanning line in one frame, and the alternating frequency is set to several hundreds of H.
It is set high like z to prevent flicker that accompanies alternating current.
Therefore, an AC signal generation circuit is provided, the clock pulse CL1 corresponding to the selection timing is counted in the scanning line, and the polarity of the AC signal M is changed for each plurality of scanning lines.

The series resistor and the operational amplifier are voltage generating circuits, which form drive voltages V1 to V6 and supply them to the scan driver and the data driver. The liquid crystal display panel is composed of m number of scanning lines X1 to Xm and has a signal line of Y1.
To Yn. As a result, the liquid crystal display panel is composed of m × n pixels.

The scanning line drive circuit is composed of a plurality of semiconductor integrated circuit devices, and has a shift register that performs a shift operation by a clock pulse CL1 and a drive voltage V1 formed by a drive voltage generation circuit that receives an output signal from the shift register. V
5 and V2 or V6 are switched by the AC signal and output to the corresponding scanning line electrode to bring the scanning line electrode to the selected / non-selected level.

When the output signal of the shift register is set to the selection level, the drive voltage V1 is output to the corresponding scanning line electrode. At this time, the other scanning line driving voltage is set to the driving voltage V5 according to the non-selection level of the output signal of the shift register. Since the shift register sequentially shifts the selection level in synchronization with the clock pulse CL1, the next scanning line electrode is set to the selection level instead at the next timing. In this way, the scanning line electrodes are sequentially selected. As described above, in the case of switching the polarity for each of a plurality of scanning lines in one frame, the alternating signal M causes the selection level such as V2 instead of the driving voltage V1 and the non-selection such as V6 instead of V5. Be leveled.

The pixel data Din is the clock pulse CL2.
And is serially input to the serial / parallel conversion circuit in synchronization with. The pixel signal of the signal line electrode corresponding to one scanning line is in the 1H period (within one cycle of the clock pulse CL1).
It is serially input in synchronization with the clock pulse CL2. The pixel signals for one scanning line thus serially captured are parallelly captured by the line data latch circuit.

The signal line drive circuit is composed of a plurality of liquid crystal drive circuits as described above, and is supplied to the line data latch circuit for performing the serial / parallel conversion operation as described above and the level shift circuit. And level shift. That is, the line data latch circuit has 5
It is composed of a V-system circuit and outputs a high level such as 5V and a low level such as 0V. On the other hand, the driver is composed of the switch MOSFET, and the drive voltage V formed by the drive voltage generation circuit is generated.
The output signal of the latch circuit is level-shifted by the level shift circuit so that voltages in a relatively large voltage range such as 1, V3, V4 and V2 can be output without level loss.

The functions and effects obtained from the above-mentioned embodiment are as follows. That is, (1) a liquid crystal drive circuit that captures image data that is serially input in synchronization with a clock pulse and that outputs in parallel a display output signal that is formed based on the image data that is serially captured according to a display timing signal. In addition to the input terminal, an output circuit and an output terminal are provided, a plurality of liquid crystal drive circuits are connected in a tandem form, and internal wiring and output circuits in the liquid crystal drive circuit are used as delay means to display each liquid crystal drive circuit. By making the output timing of the output signal dispersed over time, the peak current value that flows in the power supply line on the mounting board can be reduced even in high definition and large screen, so that the display quality due to power supply noise can be reduced. It is possible to obtain the effect of preventing deterioration and malfunction.

(2) The input circuit and the output circuit are bidirectional buffers in which the signal transmission directions can be switched bidirectionally in accordance with the control signal, and the input terminal and the output terminal are determined correspondingly to the display panel. When the liquid crystal drive circuits are separately provided on both sides of the signal electrode of (1), it is possible to obtain the effect that the wiring for connecting the liquid crystal drive circuits in a tandem form can be formed on the mounting substrate as short as possible.

(3) The liquid crystal drive circuit is divided into a plurality of groups corresponding to serial image data, and the input terminals of the first-stage circuits in each group are parallel to the input signal lines formed on the mounting board. Connected in series so that the signal of the output circuit of the first stage circuit of each set is used as the input signal of the next stage circuit, the display data can be serially captured for high definition and large screen of the liquid crystal display panel. An effect that the range of the lower limit can be widened in consideration of the delay time of the upper limit corresponding to the signal cycle and the time width of the peak portion of the power supply noise is obtained.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the invention of the present application is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say. For example, the display panel does not necessarily have to have a high definition or a large screen. When the number of signal lines is small as described above, there are advantages such that an inexpensive power supply device with a small power supply capability can be used, or a wiring formed on the mounting substrate can be thin.

The liquid crystal display panel may have an active matrix structure using TFTs (thin film transistors) other than the simple matrix structure as described above. That is, the present invention can be widely used for a liquid crystal drive circuit and a liquid crystal display device that serially take in image data and output a display signal in parallel.

[0041]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows. That is, the liquid crystal drive circuit that captures the image data serially input in synchronization with the clock pulse and outputs the display output signal formed based on the image data serially captured according to the display timing signal in parallel In addition, an output circuit and an output terminal are provided, a plurality of liquid crystal drive circuits are connected in tandem, and the internal wiring and output circuit in the liquid crystal drive circuit are used as delay means to display the output signal of each liquid crystal drive circuit. By distributing the output timing over time, the peak current value that flows in the power supply line on the mounting board can be reduced even with higher definition and larger screens. Can be prevented.

The input circuit and the output circuit are bidirectional buffers in which the signal transmission directions can be switched bidirectionally according to a control signal, and the input terminal and the output terminal are determined correspondingly, so that the signal electrode of the display panel is selected. When the liquid crystal drive circuits are separately provided on both sides of the wiring, the wiring for connecting the liquid crystal drive circuits in a tandem manner can be formed on the mounting substrate in the shortest length.

The liquid crystal drive circuit is divided into a plurality of groups corresponding to the serial image data, and the input terminals of the first-stage circuits in each group are connected in parallel to the input signal line formed on the mounting board, By connecting in series so that the signal from the output circuit of the first-stage circuit of each set is used as the input signal of the next-stage circuit, the cycle of the serial capture signal of the display data can be increased for high definition and large screen of the liquid crystal display panel It is possible to widen the range of the lower limit in consideration of the delay time of the upper limit corresponding to the above and the time width of the peak portion of the power supply noise.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an embodiment of a liquid crystal display device using a liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing another embodiment of a liquid crystal display device using the liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing still another embodiment of a liquid crystal display device using the liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram showing an embodiment of a liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing another embodiment of the liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an external view of an essential part showing one embodiment in which the liquid crystal drive circuit according to the present invention is mounted on a liquid crystal display module.

FIG. 7 is a schematic overall block diagram showing an embodiment of a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

SDL1 to SDL5, SDR1 to SDR5 ... Liquid crystal drive circuit, CONT ... Control circuit, CPU ... Microprocessor.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An input circuit, which captures at least a clock pulse and image data synchronized with the clock pulse, serially holds image data input through the input circuit, and is formed based on the image data according to a display timing signal. A plurality of circuits for outputting display output signals in parallel, and an output circuit for outputting the clock pulse inputted as the input signal and image data synchronized with the clock pulse from an output terminal are configured in one semiconductor integrated circuit. A liquid crystal drive circuit, which is essentially a delay circuit. 2. The input circuit and the output circuit are such that the signal transmission directions are bidirectionally switched according to a control signal, and the input terminal and the output terminal are determined correspondingly. LCD drive circuit. 3. A liquid crystal display panel in which signal line electrodes and scanning line electrodes are arranged in a matrix, at least a clock pulse and an input circuit for fetching image data synchronized therewith, and image data input through the input circuit is serialized. And a circuit consisting of a plurality of parallel output display output signals formed based on the image data according to the display timing signal, the input clock signal and the image data in synchronization with it from the output terminal An output circuit for outputting is formed in one semiconductor integrated circuit, and a plurality of liquid crystal drive circuits each having the above output circuit as a delay circuit are provided. Corresponding to the arrangement of the signal lines of the liquid crystal display panel. A liquid crystal display device, wherein a signal of an output circuit of a first stage circuit is supplied as an input signal of a next stage circuit. 4. The liquid crystal drive circuit is divided into a plurality of sets corresponding to serial image data, and an input terminal of a first stage circuit in each set is parallel to an input signal line formed on a mounting board. 4. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 3, wherein the signal of the output circuit of the first stage circuit of each set is supplied as an input signal of the next stage circuit.