PHYSICS OF A-SI-H SWITCHING DIODES

Amorphous silicon diodes can be used as simple, two-terminal switches in active matrix addressing of display and image sensor arrays. These switching diodes provide an alternative to transistors with a simpler technology and fewer pixel connections. This paper discusses different addressing schemes in which switching diodes can be used and it revie ws the device physics for these applications. In particular, it addres ses the mechanisms of the dark steady-state I-V characteristics and th e transient response of the diodes under typical operation conditions. The discussion gives a qualitative approach to the device physics, wh ich is supported by computer modelling that uses complete expressions for occupancy, charge density and recombination. The defect density di stribution is calculated from first principles using the defect-pool m odel.