TWI839852B - Communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication device including a substrate, a gate drive circuit, and a first radio frequency unit is provided. The gate drive circuit is disposed on the substrate. The gate drive circuit includes a first transistor and is used to output a gate drive signal. The first radio frequency unit is disposed on the substrate and is electrically connected to the gate drive circuit. The first radio frequency unit includes a first drive circuit and a first radio frequency component. The first drive circuit includes a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein the first terminal of the first drive circuit is used to receive the gate drive signal. The first radio frequency component is electrically connected to the second terminal of the first drive circuit.

Description

Communication device

The present invention relates to a communication device.

Currently, driver circuits used in communication devices are all provided in the form of driver chips. Therefore, developing a technology for providing driver circuits directly on the substrate of the communication device is one of the current development goals.

The present disclosure provides a communication device, wherein a driving circuit is arranged on a substrate.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device includes a substrate, a gate drive circuit and a first radio frequency unit. The gate drive circuit is disposed on the substrate. The gate drive circuit includes a first thin film transistor and is used to output a gate drive signal. The first radio frequency unit is disposed on the substrate and is electrically connected to the gate drive circuit. The first radio frequency unit includes a first drive circuit and a first radio frequency element. The first drive circuit includes a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the first drive circuit is used to receive the gate drive signal. The first radio frequency element is electrically connected to the second end of the first drive circuit.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a gate drive circuit and a first RF unit. The first substrate includes an operating area and a peripheral area. The second substrate is disposed on the operating area. The gate drive circuit is disposed on the second substrate. The first RF unit is disposed on the first substrate and electrically connected to the gate drive circuit. The first RF unit includes a first drive circuit and a first RF element, wherein the first RF element is electrically connected to the first drive circuit.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a gate drive circuit and a first radio frequency unit. The second substrate is disposed on the first substrate. The gate drive circuit is disposed on the first substrate or the second substrate. The gate drive circuit includes a first thin film transistor and is used to output a gate drive signal. The first radio frequency unit is disposed on the second substrate and is electrically connected to the gate drive circuit. The first radio frequency unit includes a first drive circuit and a first radio frequency element. The first drive circuit includes a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the first drive circuit is used to receive the gate drive signal. The first radio frequency element is electrically connected to the second end of the first drive circuit.

In order to make the above features and advantages of the present disclosure more clearly understood, embodiments are given below and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present disclosure can be understood by referring to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that in order to facilitate the reader's understanding and the simplicity of the drawings, the multiple drawings in the present disclosure only depict a portion of the electronic device, and the specific components in the drawings are not drawn according to the actual scale. In addition, the number and size of each component in the figure are only for illustration and are not used to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Certain terms are used throughout this disclosure and in the accompanying patent claims to refer to specific components. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that electronic device manufacturers may refer to the same component by different names. This document is not intended to distinguish between components that have the same function but different names. In the following description and patent claims, the words "include", "contain", "have" and the like are open-ended words, and therefore should be interpreted as "including but not limited to..." Therefore, when the terms "include", "contain" and/or "have" are used in the description of this disclosure, they specify the existence of corresponding features, regions, steps, operations and/or components, but do not exclude the existence of one or more corresponding features, regions, steps, operations and/or components.

The directional terms mentioned herein, such as "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", etc., are only with reference to the directions of the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are used to illustrate, but not to limit the present disclosure. In the accompanying drawings, each diagram depicts the general characteristics of the methods, structures and/or materials used in a particular embodiment. However, these diagrams should not be interpreted as defining or limiting the scope or nature covered by these embodiments. For example, for the sake of clarity, the relative size, thickness and position of each film layer, region and/or structure may be reduced or exaggerated.

When a corresponding component (such as a film layer or region) is referred to as being "on another component", it may be directly on the other component, or other components may exist between the two. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being "directly on another component", there is no component between the two. In addition, when a component is referred to as being "on another component", the two have a top-down relationship in a top-down direction, and the component may be above or below the other component, and the top-down relationship depends on the orientation of the device.

The terms "approximately," "equal to," "equal" or "same," "substantially" or "substantially" are generally interpreted as being within 20% of a given value or range, or within 10%, 5%, 3%, 2%, 1% or 0.5% of a given value or range.

The ordinal numbers used in the specification and patent application, such as "first", "second", etc., are used to modify the components. They do not imply or represent any previous ordinal number of the component (or components), nor do they represent the order of one component to another component, or the order of the manufacturing method. The use of these ordinal numbers is only used to make a component with a certain name clearly distinguishable from another component with the same name. The patent application and the specification may not use the same terms. Accordingly, the first component in the specification may be the second component in the patent application.

It should be noted that the following embodiments can replace, reorganize, and mix the features of several different embodiments to complete other embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The features of each embodiment can be mixed and matched as long as they do not violate the spirit of the invention or conflict with each other.

The electrical connection or coupling described in the present disclosure may refer to direct connection or indirect connection. In the case of direct connection, the endpoints of the components on the two circuits are directly connected or connected to each other by a conductor segment, and in the case of indirect connection, there are switches, diodes, capacitors, inductors, other suitable components, or combinations of the above components between the endpoints of the components on the two circuits, but not limited to these.

In the present disclosure, the thickness, length and width can be measured by an optical microscope, and the thickness can be measured by a cross-sectional image in an electron microscope, but it is not limited to this. In addition, any two values or directions used for comparison may have a certain error. If the first value is equal to the second value, it implies that there may be an error of about 10% between the first value and the second value; if the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, the angle between the first direction and the second direction may be between 80 degrees and 100 degrees; if the first direction is parallel to the second direction, the angle between the first direction and the second direction may be between 0 degrees and 10 degrees.

The electronic device disclosed herein may include display, communication, lighting, sensing, touch, splicing, other suitable functions, or a combination of the above functions, but is not limited thereto. The electronic device may achieve communication functions, for example, through an antenna (e.g., a liquid crystal antenna), a wireless router (Wifi router, a reconfigurable intelligent surface device), or a suitable combination of the above, but not limited thereto. The electronic device includes a rollable or flexible electronic device, but not limited thereto. The electronic device may include, for example, a liquid crystal, a light emitting diode (LED), a quantum dot (QD), fluorescence, phosphor, other suitable materials, or a combination of the above. The light emitting diode may include, for example, an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a micro-LED (micro-LED, mini-LED), or a quantum dot light emitting diode (QLED, QDLED), but not limited thereto. The following text will use a communication device as an electronic device to illustrate the content of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are exemplified below, in which the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and description to represent the same or similar parts.

1 is a schematic top view of a communication device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2A is a schematic top view of a portion of a U-type thin film transistor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2B is a schematic top view of a portion of an I-type thin film transistor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

1 , the communication device 10a of this embodiment includes a substrate SB1, a gate driving circuit GD, and a first RF unit 100.

The material of the substrate SB1 may be, for example, glass, plastic or a combination thereof. For example, the material of the substrate SB1 may include quartz, sapphire, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Polyimide, ABF, PCB or other suitable materials or a combination of the above materials, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the substrate SB1 includes an operating area OA and a peripheral area PA, and the peripheral area PA is located on one side of the operating area OA. Specifically, the peripheral area PA of the substrate SB1 of the present embodiment is adjacent to the operating area OA in the first direction d1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the peripheral area PA may be located on at least one side of the operating area OA. For example, the peripheral area PA may be disposed on four sides of the operating area OA to surround the operating area OA. In some embodiments, the substrate SB1 may only have the operating area OA, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The gate driver circuit GD is, for example, disposed on the substrate SB1. In the present embodiment, the gate driver circuit GD is disposed in the peripheral area PA of the substrate SB1, and therefore, the gate driver circuit GD is disposed on the substrate SB1 in a manner of disposing a driver circuit on a substrate (gate driver on panel, GOP). In some embodiments, there are multiple gate driver circuits GD, and the multiple gate driver circuits GD are arranged along the second direction d2, wherein the second direction d2 is orthogonal to the first direction d1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The gate driver circuit GD is, for example, used to output a gate drive signal. For example, the gate drive circuit GD may include a plurality of shift register units (not shown) and a plurality of clock signal lines (not shown). Each shift register unit may include, for example, a plurality of shift registers (not shown) connected in series with each other, and each shift register is electrically connected to a corresponding clock signal line. Therefore, each shift register may receive a clock signal from a corresponding clock signal line, and output a corresponding gate drive signal through the clock signal. In some embodiments, the shift register may include a pull-up circuit (not shown) and a pull-down circuit (not shown), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B at the same time. In some embodiments, the gate drive circuit GD includes a thin film transistor TFT1. The thin film transistor TFT1 included in the gate drive circuit GD may be, for example, a U-type thin film transistor or an I-type thin film transistor, wherein the U-type thin film transistor has a U-type channel U_CH in the normal direction n (top view direction) of the substrate, and the I-type thin film transistor has an I-type channel I_CH in the normal direction n of the substrate, wherein the normal direction n of the substrate is orthogonal to the first direction d1 and the second direction d2. The thin film transistor, for example, has a gate, a source, a drain and a semiconductor layer. Here, taking a U-type thin film transistor as an example, the U-type thin film transistor may include a gate G, a source S, a drain D and a semiconductor layer SE. The gate G is, for example, arranged corresponding to the semiconductor layer SE, that is, the gate G at least partially overlaps with the semiconductor layer SE in the normal direction n of the substrate SB1, for example. The source S and the drain D are, for example, separated from each other, and cover at least a portion of the semiconductor layer SE and are electrically connected to the semiconductor layer SE, and define a U-shaped channel U_CH. In some embodiments, the material of the semiconductor layer SE may include low temperature polysilicon (LTPS), metal oxide, or amorphous silicon (a-Si), or a combination of the above items, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the material of the semiconductor layer SE may include but is not limited to amorphous silicon, polycrystalline silicon, germanium, compound semiconductors (such as gallium nitride, silicon carbide, gallium arsenide, gallium phosphide, indium phosphide, indium arsenide and/or indium sulfide), alloy semiconductors (such as SiGe alloys, GaAsP alloys, AlInAs alloys, AlGaAs alloys, GaInAs alloys, GaInP alloys, GaInAsP alloys), or combinations thereof. The material of the semiconductor layer SE may also include but is not limited to metal oxides, such as indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZTO), or organic semiconductors containing polycyclic aromatic compounds, or combinations thereof. The U-type thin film transistor may be, for example, any bottom gate thin film transistor known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. However, although the present embodiment takes the bottom gate thin film transistor as an example, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. It is worth noting that the components and materials of the I-type thin film transistor may be the same or similar to the components and materials of the U-type thin film transistor, which will not be elaborated here. In addition, in some embodiments, the gate drive circuit GD may include a plurality of thin film transistors TFT1, wherein the semiconductor layer of each thin film transistor TFT1 may include the same material or different materials. For example, the gate drive circuit GD may include two thin film transistors TFT1, each of which has a semiconductor layer including metal oxide or low-temperature polysilicon, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the U-shaped channel U_CH of the U-shaped thin film transistor has a channel length U_L and a channel width U_W. The definition of the channel length U_L of the U-shaped channel U_CH may be, for example, the distance from the source S to the drain D, and the definition of the channel width U_W of the U-shaped channel U_CH may be, for example, the area of the U-shaped channel U_CH in the normal direction n of the substrate divided by the channel length U_L; or, for example, the distance of the U-shaped line connecting all the midpoints between the source S and the drain D. In addition, in some embodiments, the I-type channel I_CH of the I-type thin film transistor has a channel length I_L and a channel width I_W. The channel length I_L of the I-type channel I_CH may be defined as, for example, the distance from the source S to the drain D, and the channel width I_W of the I-type channel I_CH may be defined as, for example, the area of the I-type channel I_CH in the normal direction n of the substrate divided by the channel length I_L; or, for example, the distance of a straight line connecting all midpoints between the source S and the drain D.

The first RF unit 100 is, for example, disposed on the substrate SB1 and disposed in the operating area OA of the substrate SB1. In addition, the first RF unit 100 is, for example, electrically connected to the gate drive circuit GD. In detail, in the present embodiment, the first RF unit 100 is electrically connected to the gate drive circuit GD through the signal line CL (for example, the gate line), but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In the present embodiment, each row of the first RF unit 100 corresponds to a gate drive circuit GD, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. In some embodiments, the first RF unit 100 includes a first drive circuit 110 and a first RF element 120. The first driver circuit 110, for example, includes a first terminal 110T1 and a second terminal 110T2, wherein the first terminal 110T1 of the first driver circuit 110 is used to receive the gate driving signal, and the second terminal 110T2 of the first driver circuit 110 is electrically connected to the first RF element 120. In detail, the first terminal 110T1 of the first driver circuit 110, for example, is coupled to the gate driving circuit GD to receive the gate driving signal from the gate driving circuit GD, and the second terminal 110T2 of the first driver circuit 110, for example, is coupled to the first RF element 120 to provide the gate driving signal from the gate driving circuit GD to the first RF element 120.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , in some embodiments, the first driving circuit 110 further includes a thin film transistor TFT2. The thin film transistor TFT2 included in the first driving circuit 110 may be, for example, the U-type thin film transistor or the I-type thin film transistor of the aforementioned embodiment, wherein the measurement method or definition of the channel length and channel width of the thin film transistor TFT2 may refer to the aforementioned embodiment, and will not be repeated here. In the present embodiment, when both thin film transistor TFT2 and thin film transistor TFT1 are U-shaped thin film transistors, the channel length and channel width of thin film transistor TFT2 and thin film transistor TFT1 satisfy the following relationship: U_W2/U_L2 ＜ U_W1/U_L1, wherein U_L2 is the channel length of thin film transistor TFT2, U_W2 is the channel width of thin film transistor TFT2, U_L1 is the channel length of thin film transistor TFT1, and U_W1 is the channel width of thin film transistor TFT1. In addition, in the present embodiment, when both thin film transistor TFT2 and thin film transistor TFT1 are I-type thin film transistors, the channel length and channel width of thin film transistor TFT2 and thin film transistor TFT1 meet the following relationship: I_W2/I_L2 < I_W1/I_L1, where I_L2 is the channel length of thin film transistor TFT2, I_W2 is the channel width of thin film transistor TFT2, I_L1 is the channel length of thin film transistor TFT1, and I_W1 is the channel width of thin film transistor TFT1. Specifically, the ratio of the channel width to the channel length of thin film transistor TFT2 included in the first drive circuit 110 is smaller than the ratio of the channel width to the channel length of thin film transistor TFT1 included in the gate drive circuit GD. That is, the thin film transistor TFT2 included in the first drive circuit 110 has an equivalent resistance that is smaller than the equivalent resistance of the thin film transistor TFT1 included in the gate drive circuit GD. It is worth noting that the thin film transistor TFT1 and the thin film transistor TFT2 can be different thin film transistors, which can be based on the equivalent resistance of the thin film transistor to be designed. When the thin film transistor TFT1 and the thin film transistor TFT2 are different thin film transistors, they also meet the aforementioned ratio relationship between the channel width and the channel length. In addition, the first drive circuit 110 may also include a passive element or other suitable electronic elements, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the thin film transistor TFT2 in the first driving circuit 110 may have a different material or a different lattice structure from the thin film transistor TFT1 in the gate driving circuit GD. For example, the material included in the semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor TFT2 in the first driving circuit 110 may be amorphous silicon, and the material included in the semiconductor layer of the thin film transistor TFT1 in the gate driving circuit GD may be low-temperature polysilicon, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, in some embodiments, the first driving circuit 110 may include a plurality of thin film transistor TFT2, wherein the semiconductor layer of each thin film transistor TFT2 may include the same material or different materials. For example, the first driving circuit 110 may include two thin film transistors TFT2, each of which has a semiconductor layer including amorphous silicon or low-temperature polysilicon, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The first RF element 120 may be applicable to the communication field, radar/lidar field, reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) technology or other suitable fields/technologies, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first RF element 120 may include a variable capacitor, a variable resistor, a variable capacitance diode, a phase shifter, an amplifier, an antenna, a biometric sensor, a graphene sensor, other suitable RF elements or a combination thereof. In addition, the frequency of the first RF element 120 may be adjusted in a range of about 3 MHz to 300 THz, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the communication device 10a further includes a second RF unit 200. The second RF unit 200 is also, for example, disposed on the substrate SB1 and disposed in the operating area OA of the substrate SB1, wherein the first RF unit 100 is closer to the gate drive circuit GD than the second RF unit 200. The second RF unit 200 can be disposed on the substrate SB1 in an array arrangement, a staggered arrangement (e.g., a pentile arrangement), or other manners together with the first RF unit 100, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the second RF unit 200 is disposed on the substrate SB1 in an array arrangement together with the first RF unit 100. The second RF unit 200 is coupled to the first RF unit 100 in the first direction d1, for example, so that the second RF unit 200 can be electrically connected to the gate driving circuit GD through the first RF unit 100, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The second RF unit 200 includes, for example, a second driving circuit 210 and a second RF element 220. The second driving circuit 210 and the second RF element 220 of the present embodiment can be respectively the same or similar to the aforementioned first driving circuit 110 and the first RF element 120, and will not be described in detail here. It is worth noting that in other embodiments, the second driving circuit 210 can be different from the first driving circuit 110, which will be described in the following embodiments.

Fig. 3 is a top view of a communication device according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiment of Fig. 3 may use the component numbers and some contents of the embodiment of Fig. 1, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical contents is omitted.

3 , the main difference between the communication device 10b of the present embodiment and the communication device 10a shown in FIG1 is that the first RF unit 100 and the second RF unit 200 of the communication device 10b are not arranged together in an array on the substrate 100. Specifically, the number of RF units (the first RF unit 100 and the second RF unit 200) in each row or the number of RF units (the first RF unit 100 and the second RF unit 200) connected to each signal line CL may be different or the same. It is worth noting that a row of RF units defined herein does not limit the RF units to extend in the same direction. In other embodiments, a row of RF units may extend along a curve, an arc, or other non-straight track, or RF units in different rows may share the same signal line CL. In other words, the relationship between the number of RF units in each row may conform to the following relationship: |(N _a -N _a+1 )/(N _a )| <10%, where N _a is the number of RF units in the a th row, N _a+1 is the number of RF units in the a+1 th row, and a is a natural number.

Fig. 4 is a top view of a communication device according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiment of Fig. 4 may use the component numbers and some contents of the embodiment of Fig. 1, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical contents is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the main difference between the communication device 10c of the present embodiment and the communication device 10a shown in FIG. 1 is that one gate driving circuit GD of the communication device 10c corresponds to a plurality of rows of first RF units 100. Specifically, the gate driving circuit GD of the communication device 10c may include a plurality of signal output terminals, and each signal output terminal is coupled to a first terminal 110T1 of a first driving circuit 110 in a corresponding row of first RF units 100. It is worth noting that, although FIG. 4 shows that the communication device 10c includes only one gate driving circuit GD, a person skilled in the art will know that the communication device 10c includes a plurality of gate driving circuits GD.

Fig. 5 is a top view of a communication device according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiment of Fig. 5 may use the component numbers and some contents of the embodiment of Fig. 1, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical contents is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the main difference between the communication device 10d of the present embodiment and the communication device 10a shown in FIG. 1 is that the gate drive circuit GD of the communication device 10d is disposed in the operation area OA of the substrate 100. Specifically, the gate drive circuit GD can be disposed on the substrate SB1 in an array arrangement in the operation area OA together with the first RF unit 100. Based on this, the area of the peripheral area PA of the communication device 10d of the present embodiment can be reduced.

Fig. 6 is a top view of a communication device according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiment of Fig. 6 may use the component numbers and some contents of the embodiment of Fig. 5, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical contents is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the main difference between the communication device 10e of this embodiment and the communication device 10d shown in FIG. 5 is that the gate drive circuit GD is not arranged on the substrate SB1 in an array arrangement in the operation area OA together with the first RF unit 100, which allows adjacent RF units adjacent to the gate drive circuit GD to have different distances. Specifically, in this embodiment, the communication device 10e further includes a third RF unit 300, wherein the second RF unit 200 is located between the first RF unit 100 and the third RF unit 300. In some embodiments, the third RF unit 300 is electrically connected to the gate drive circuit GD. Specifically, the third RF unit 300 is coupled to the second RF unit 200, so that the third RF unit 300 can also be electrically connected to the gate driving circuit GD through the first RF unit 100. The third RF unit 300 includes, for example, a third driving circuit 310 and a third RF element 320. The third driving circuit 310 and the third RF element 320 can be the same or similar to the second driving circuit 210 and the second RF element 220 of the aforementioned embodiment, respectively, and will not be described in detail herein, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the distance D1 between the second RF element 220 and the third RF element 320 is smaller than the distance D2 between the first RF element 120 and the second RF element 220. From another perspective, compared with the aforementioned embodiment, the first RF element 120 is closer to the gate driving circuit GD. For example, the first RF element 120 can be arranged in a ring shape and surround the gate driving circuit GD, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Through the aforementioned design, the defects caused by the gate driving circuit GD disposed in the operating area can be compensated, thereby improving the yield of the communication device 10e.

Fig. 7 is a top view of a communication device according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiment of Fig. 7 may use the component numbers and some contents of the embodiment of Fig. 6, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical contents is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the main difference between the communication device 10f of the present embodiment and the communication device 10e shown in FIG. 6 is that the communication device 10f includes a first RF unit 100′, and compared with the thin film transistor TFT2 of the first RF unit 100 (first drive circuit 110), the thin film transistor TFT2′ in the first RF unit 100′ (first drive circuit 110′) has a different size or has a different material or a different lattice structure. In detail, the ratio of the channel width to the channel length of the thin film transistor TFT2′ in the first drive circuit 110′ may be different from the ratio of the channel width to the channel length of the thin film transistor TFT2 in the first drive circuit 110. In the present embodiment, the ratio of the channel width to the channel length of the thin film transistor TFT2' in the first driving circuit 110' is greater than the ratio of the channel width to the channel length of the thin film transistor TFT2 in the first driving circuit 110. For example, the channel size of the thin film transistor TFT2' in the first driving circuit 110' may be similar to the channel size of the thin film transistor TFT1 in the gate driving circuit GD, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the material included in the thin film transistor TFT2' in the first driving circuit 110' may be, for example, a metal oxide, and the material included in the thin film transistor TFT2 in the first driving circuit 110 may be, for example, low-temperature polysilicon. In this embodiment, the first RF unit 100' is arranged at four corners close to the gate driving circuit GD. Through the above-mentioned design, the thin film transistor TFT2' in the first driving circuit 110' has relatively strong power and relatively good leakage performance, which can compensate for the defects caused by the gate driving circuit GD arranged in the operating area, thereby improving the yield of the communication device 10f.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the distance D3 between the second RF element 220 and the third RF element 320 may be substantially equal to the distance D4 between the first RF element 120′ and the second RF element 220 (or the distance D4′ between the first RF element 120 and the second RF element 220), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

It is worth noting that the second RF element 220 can receive signals of different frequencies outputted from the second driving circuit 210, for example, because the thin film transistor TFT2 of the second driving circuit 210 and the thin film transistor TFT2' in the first driving circuit 110' have the aforementioned differences. For example, the first RF element 120' can receive a first signal (from a gate driving circuit GD coupled to the first end of the first driving circuit 110') from the second end 110'T2 of the first driving circuit 110', and the second RF element 220 can receive a second signal (from a gate driving circuit GD coupled to the second driving circuit 210) from the second driving circuit 210, and the frequency of the first signal is different from the frequency of the second signal. In some embodiments, the second RF element 220 can receive or transmit signals in the same frequency band as the first RF element 120. For example, the frequency of the second RF element 220 can also be adjusted in a range of about 3 MHz to 300 THz, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, in some embodiments, the second RF element 220 can be combined with the first RF element 120 to form an RF unit that receives or transmits signals together, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.

Fig. 8 is a top view of a communication device according to the seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiment of Fig. 8 may use the component numbers and some contents of the embodiment of Fig. 5, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical contents is omitted.

Referring to FIG8 , the main difference between the communication device 10g of this embodiment and the communication device 10d shown in FIG5 is that the gate drive circuit GD′ in the communication device 10g includes gate drive elements distributed in the operating area OA where no RF unit is provided. Specifically, the communication device 10g further includes a first RF unit 100″. The first RF unit 100'' is adjacent to the first RF unit 100 in the second direction d2 and includes a first driving circuit 110'' and a first RF element 120''. The gate driving circuit GD' includes, for example, gate driving elements DC1, DC2, DC3, and DC4. The gate driving elements DC1, DC2, DC3, and DC4 included in the gate driving circuit GD' can be distributed in the operating area OA where the first RF unit 100, the first RF unit 100'', and the second RF unit 200 are not disposed. The gate driving elements DC1, DC2, DC3, and DC4 can be, for example, resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, diodes, wires, or a combination thereof, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, adjacent gate drive elements (e.g., gate drive element DC1 and gate drive element DC2) have a distance D5 in the second direction d2, and the first RF element 120 and the first RF element 120'' have a distance D6 in the second direction d2, and the distance D5 is greater than the distance D6. It is worth noting that the present embodiment does not limit the gate drive circuit GD' to include four gate drive elements DC1, DC2, DC3, DC4.

Fig. 9 is a top view of a communication device according to an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiment of Fig. 9 may use the component numbers and some contents of the embodiment of Fig. 5, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical contents is omitted.

Please refer to Figure 9. The main difference between the communication device 10h of this embodiment and the communication device 10d shown in Figure 5 is that the communication device 10h includes a substrate SB2, and the substrate SB2 is arranged on the substrate SB1. The gate drive circuit GD'' included in the communication device 10h is, for example, arranged on the substrate SB2, wherein the gate drive circuit GD'' includes a thin film transistor TFT1. In some embodiments, the gate drive circuit GD'' can be, for example, arranged on the substrate SB1 in a manner of a chip being arranged on a substrate. In detail, the substrate SB2 can be a flexible substrate, a glass substrate or other suitable substrate, and the gate drive circuit GD'' can be, for example, arranged on the substrate SB1 in a manner of a chip being arranged on a substrate (chip on panel, COP). The thin film transistor TFT1 in the gate driving circuit GD″ can be electrically connected to each first RF unit 100 disposed on the substrate SB1, for example, through a signal line CL.

Fig. 10 is a top view of a communication device according to a ninth embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiment of Fig. 10 may use the component numbers and some contents of the embodiment of Fig. 5, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical contents is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the main difference between the communication device 10i of the present embodiment and the communication device 10d shown in FIG. 5 is that the communication device 10i further includes a multiplexer MUX and/or an electrostatic protection circuit ESD. The multiplexer MUX is, for example, disposed in the operation area OA and electrically connected to the first driver circuit 110 and the gate driver circuit GD. The multiplexer MUX can control the difference in the timing of sending a signal so that the signal can be input to the first driver circuit 110 of the first RF unit 100 at different time points, thereby reducing the number of gate driver circuits GD to increase the use space of the operation area OA. The electrostatic protection circuit ESD is, for example, disposed in the operating area OA and electrically connected to the first drive circuit 110 or the gate drive circuit GD. In some embodiments, the electrostatic protection circuit ESD is, for example, disposed in the peripheral area, but is not limited thereto. The electrostatic protection circuit ESD may be, for example, an electrostatic protection element composed of a diode, a capacitor, or a combination thereof. For example, the electrostatic protection circuit ESD may include a transistor formed by a plurality of diodes, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The electrostatic protection circuit ESD may provide a signal transmission path with relatively low impedance to play a role in electrostatic protection. In addition, in the present embodiment, the electrostatic protection circuit ESD may be electrically connected to the ground electrode GROUND to increase the effect of electrostatic protection, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. It is worth noting that the number of multiplexers MUX, the connection relationship between the multiplexers MUX and other components, the number of electrostatic protection circuits ESD, and the connection relationship between the electrostatic protection circuits ESD and other components shown in this embodiment are only examples, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Furthermore, although this embodiment shows that the communication device 10i includes both the multiplexers MUX and the electrostatic protection circuits ESD, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, that is, the communication device 10i may include only one of the multiplexers MUX and the electrostatic protection circuits ESD.

FIG11 is a top view schematic diagram of a communication device according to the tenth embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG12A is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an embodiment cut along the section line A-A' of FIG11. It should be noted that the embodiment of FIG11 may use the component numbers and part of the content of the embodiment of FIG1, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical content is omitted.

Please refer to Figure 11. The main difference between the communication device 10j of this embodiment and the communication device 10a shown in Figure 1 is that the communication device 10j also includes a substrate SB2 and a bus BUS. The first RF unit 100 included in the communication device 10j is, for example, disposed on the substrate SB2. In some embodiments, the substrate SB2 may, for example, include an insulating thermally conductive material. For example, the substrate SB2 may, for example, be a copper-clad ceramic substrate, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The gate drive circuit GD included in the communication device 10j is, for example, disposed on the substrate SB1, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the gate drive circuit GD included in the communication device 10j may also be disposed on the substrate SB1. In addition, a bus line BUS is disposed on the substrate SB1, wherein adjacent substrates SB2 can be electrically connected to each other through the bus line BUS, so that the signal generated by the gate drive circuit GD can be transmitted between the adjacent substrates SB2.

FIG12A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment according to the section line A-A' of FIG11, and FIG12B is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment according to the section line A-A' of FIG11. It should be noted that the embodiment of FIG12B may use the component numbers and part of the content of the embodiment of FIG12A, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical content is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 12B , in some embodiments, the communication device 10j may further include an insulating layer IL, a film sealing layer MOLD, a packaging layer PL, and a contact pad PAD, and the gate driving circuit 200 is disposed on the substrate SB2. Specifically, the gate driving circuit GD and the insulating layer IL are, for example, disposed on the substrate SB2, wherein the insulating layer IL, for example, covers the gate driving circuit GD. The first driving circuit 110 of the first RF unit 100 and the film sealing layer MOLD are, for example, disposed on the insulating layer IL, wherein the film sealing layer MOLD, for example, covers the first driving circuit 110. The packaging layer PL is, for example, disposed on the substrate SB2 and covers the film sealing layer MOLD. The contact pad PAD is, for example, disposed on the packaging layer PL, and the first RF element 120 of the first RF unit 100 can be electrically connected to the first driving circuit 110 through the contact pad PAD. The insulating layer IL, the film sealing layer MOLD, and the packaging layer PL can, for example, include insulating and thermally conductive materials, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Fig. 13 is a top view of a communication device according to the eleventh embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiment of Fig. 13 may use the component numbers and part of the content of the embodiment of Fig. 5, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical content is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 13 , the main difference between the communication device 10k of this embodiment and the communication device 10d shown in FIG. 5 is that the communication device 10k is a spliced communication device. Specifically, for example, the two communication devices 10d shown in FIG. 5 can be spliced to form the communication device 10k, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto, that is, the communication devices mentioned in the aforementioned embodiments can all be spliced to form a new communication device. In this embodiment, the communication device 10d1 and the communication device 10d2 are spliced to form the communication device 10k. The distance D7 between the adjacent first RF elements 120 in the communication device 10d1 or the communication device 10d2 in the first direction d1 is, for example, smaller than the distance D8 between the first RF element 120 in the communication device 10d1 and the first RF element 120 in the communication device 10d2 in the first direction d1. Further, the aforementioned distance D7 and distance D8 satisfy the following relationship: D7 < D8 < 10*D7. In some embodiments, the communication device 10k may further include a control unit (not shown) and a plurality of signal transmission lines (not shown). The signal transmission lines may be used, for example, to electrically connect the control unit to the communication device 10d1 and the communication device 10d2, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

According to the above, the disclosed embodiment provides a novel communication device, which directly sets the gate drive circuit on the substrate of the communication device, thereby reducing the number of gate drive circuits used and achieving a narrow frame design.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present disclosure, rather than to limit them; although the present disclosure is described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, ordinary technicians in this field should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments, or replace part or all of the technical features therein with equivalent ones; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The features of the embodiments can be mixed and matched as long as they do not violate the spirit of the invention or conflict with each other.

10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 10d1, 10d2, 10e, 10f, 10g, 10h, 10i, 10j, 10k: communication device 100, 100', 100'': first RF unit 110, 110', 110'': first drive circuit 110T1: first end 110T2, 110'T2: second end 120, 120', 120'': first RF element 200: second RF unit 210: second drive circuit 220: second RF element 300: third RF unit 310: third drive circuit 320: third RF element A-A': section line BUS: bus line CL: signal line d1: first direction d2: second direction D: drain D1, D2, D3, D4, D4’, D5, D6, D7, D8: distance DC1, DC2, DC3, DC4: gate driver ESD: electrostatic protection circuit G: gate GD, GD’, GD’’: gate driver circuit GROUND: ground electrode I_CH: I-type channel I_L, U_L: channel length I_W, U_W: channel width IL: insulation layer MOLD: membrane sealing layer MUX: multiplexer n: normal direction OA: operation area PA: peripheral area PAD: contact pad PL: packaging layer S: source SB1, SB2: substrate SE: semiconductor layer TFT1, TFT2, TFT2’: thin film transistor U_CH: U-shaped channel

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a communication device of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2A is a partial schematic top view of a U-type thin film transistor of an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2B is a partial schematic top view of an I-type thin film transistor of an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of a communication device of the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of a communication device of the third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of a communication device of the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a schematic top view of a communication device of the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a schematic top view of a communication device of the sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a schematic top view of a communication device of the seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of a communication device of the eighth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a schematic top view of a communication device of the ninth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a schematic top view of a communication device according to the tenth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment according to the section line A-A’ of FIG. 11. FIG. 12B is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment according to the section line A-A’ of FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a schematic top view of a communication device according to the eleventh embodiment of the present disclosure.

10a: Communication device

100: First RF unit

110: First drive circuit

110T1: First end

110T2: Second end

120: First radio frequency element

200: Second RF unit

210: Second drive circuit

220: Second RF element

CL:Signal cable

d1: first direction

d2: second direction

GD: Gate drive circuit

n: normal direction

OA: Operation Area

PA: Peripheral Area

SB1: Substrate

TFT1, TFT2: Thin Film Transistor

Claims (15)

A communication device includes: a substrate; a gate drive circuit disposed on the substrate, the gate drive circuit includes a first thin film transistor, and the gate drive circuit is used to output a gate drive signal; and a first radio frequency unit disposed on the substrate and electrically connected to the gate drive circuit, including: the first drive circuit includes a first end and a second end, the first end is used to receive the gate drive signal; and a first radio frequency element electrically connected to the second end, wherein the substrate includes an operating area and a peripheral area, the first radio frequency unit is disposed in the operating area, and the gate drive circuit is disposed in the operating area or the peripheral area. The communication device as described in claim 1, wherein the first driving circuit further includes a second thin film transistor, the channel of the first thin film transistor includes a first width and a first length, the channel of the second thin film transistor includes a second width and a second length, and the ratio of the second width to the second length is less than the ratio of the first width to the first length. The communication device as described in claim 1 further includes a second RF unit and a third RF unit, the second RF unit and the third RF unit are electrically connected to the gate drive circuit, the second RF unit is located between the first RF unit and the third RF unit, and the first RF unit is closer to the gate drive circuit than the second RF unit, the second RF unit includes a second RF element, and the third RF unit includes a third RF element, wherein the distance between the second RF element and the third RF element is smaller than the distance between the first RF element and the second RF element. The communication device as described in claim 1 further includes a second RF unit, and the first driving circuit further includes a second thin film transistor, the first RF unit is closer to the gate driving circuit than the second RF unit, and the first RF unit and the second RF unit are electrically connected to the gate driving circuit, the second RF unit includes a second driving circuit, and the second driving circuit includes a third thin film transistor, wherein the channel of the second thin film transistor includes a second width and a second length, the channel of the third thin film transistor includes a third width and a third length, and the ratio of the second width to the second length is different from the ratio of the third width to the third length. A communication device as described in claim 1, wherein the ratio of the second width to the second length is greater than the ratio of the third width to the third length. The communication device as described in claim 1 further includes a second RF unit, and the first drive circuit further includes a second thin film transistor, the first RF unit is closer to the gate drive circuit than the second RF unit, and the first RF unit and the second RF unit are electrically connected to the gate drive circuit, the second RF unit includes a second drive circuit, and the second drive circuit includes a third thin film transistor, wherein the semiconductor layer of the second thin film transistor and the semiconductor layer of the third thin film transistor have different materials or different lattice structures. The communication device as described in claim 1 further includes a second RF unit, the second RF unit includes a second driving circuit and a second RF element, the first RF element is used to receive a first signal from the first driving circuit, and the second RF element is used to receive a second signal from the second driving circuit, wherein the frequency of the first signal is different from the frequency of the second signal. The communication device as described in claim 1 further includes a second RF unit, the second RF unit is adjacent to the first RF unit in a first direction, and includes a second RF element, the gate drive circuit includes a plurality of gate drive elements, adjacent gate drive elements have a third distance in the first direction, the first RF element and the second RF element have a fourth distance in the first direction, and the third distance is greater than the fourth distance. The communication device as described in claim 1, wherein the first driving circuit further includes a second thin film transistor, and the semiconductor layer of the first thin film transistor and the semiconductor layer of the second thin film transistor have different materials or different lattice structures. The communication device as described in claim 1, wherein the first driving circuit further includes a second thin film transistor and a third thin film transistor, and the semiconductor layer of the second thin film transistor and the semiconductor layer of the third thin film transistor have different materials. A communication device as described in claim 1, wherein the gate drive circuit further includes a third thin film transistor, and the semiconductor layer of the first thin film transistor and the semiconductor layer of the third thin film transistor have different materials. The communication device as described in claim 1 further includes a multi-processor, which is disposed on the substrate and electrically connected to the first drive circuit and the gate drive circuit. The communication device as described in claim 1 further includes an electrostatic protection circuit, which is disposed on the substrate and electrically connected to the first drive circuit or the gate drive circuit. A communication device includes: a first substrate; a second substrate disposed on the first substrate; a gate drive circuit disposed on the second substrate, the gate drive circuit including a first thin film transistor; and a first radio frequency unit disposed on the first substrate and electrically connected to the gate drive circuit, including: a first drive circuit; and a first radio frequency element electrically connected to the first drive circuit, wherein the first substrate includes an operating area and a peripheral area, the first radio frequency unit is disposed in the operating area, and the gate drive circuit is disposed in the operating area or the peripheral area. A communication device includes: a first substrate; a second substrate disposed on the first substrate; a gate drive circuit disposed on the first substrate or the second substrate, the gate drive circuit includes a first thin film transistor, and the gate drive circuit is used to output a gate drive signal; and a first radio frequency unit disposed on the second substrate and electrically connected to the gate drive circuit, including: the first drive circuit includes a first end and a second end, the first end is used to receive the gate drive signal; and a first radio frequency element is electrically connected to the second end, wherein the first substrate includes an operating area and a peripheral area, the first radio frequency unit is disposed in the operating area, and the gate drive circuit is disposed in the operating area or the peripheral area.

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