Latch circuit, shift register circuit and image display device operated with a low consumption of power

[0002] The present invention relates to a latch circuit for transmitting a pulse signal, a shift register circuit having this latch circuit and an image display device employing this shift register circuit.

[0003] Herein is provided a description for a conventional liquid crystal display device and a shift register circuit that constitutes the data signal line drive circuit and scanning signal line drive circuit of the device, which are taken as examples of an image display device and a shift register circuit having the conventional latch circuit. It is to be noted that the shift register and the image display device of the present invention are limited neither to the above liquid crystal display device nor to the shift register for the liquid crystal display device and is able to be applied to an image display device and a shift register for the image display device of another type.

[0004] Conventionally, as the above liquid crystal display device, there has been known a liquid crystal display device of an active matrix driving system. As shown in FIG. 37, this liquid crystal display device is constructed of a pixel array ARY, a scanning signal line drive circuit GD and a data signal line drive circuit SD. In the above pixel array ARY, pixels PIX are arranged in the vicinity of intersections of a number of scanning signal lines GL and a number of data signal lines SL that intersect each other and connected to the adjacent scanning signal line GL and data signal line SL so as to be arranged in a matrix form.

[0005] The data signal line drive circuit SD samples an input video signal dat in synchronization with a timing signal such as a clock signal cks and writes the resulting data into the data signal lines SL while amplifying the signal as the occasion demands. The scanning signal line drive circuit GD successively selects the scanning signal lines GL in synchronization with a timing signal such as a clock signal ckg, writes the video signal (data) dat written in the data signal lines SL into the corresponding pixels PIX by controlling the opening and closing of switching elements existing in the pixels PIX and holds the data written in the pixels PIX.

[0006] As shown in FIG. 38, each pixel PIX is constructed of a field-effect transistor SW that serves as the aforementioned switching element and a pixel capacity comprised of a liquid crystal capacity CL and an auxiliary capacity (added as the occasion demands) CS. Then, the data signal line SL and one electrode of the pixel capacity are connected to each other via the drain and source of the transistor SW, while the gate of the transistor SW is connected to the scanning signal line GL. Further, the other electrode of the pixel capacity is connected to a common electrode (not shown) common to all the pixels. In the above construction, the transmittance or reflectance of the liquid crystals is modulated by a voltage applied to the liquid crystal capacity CL, thereby driving the pixel for display.

[0007] A method for writing the aforementioned video signal dat into the data signal lines SL will be described next. As a system for driving the data signal lines SL, there are existing a dot sequence driving system and a line sequence driving system, and reference is herein made to the dot sequence driving system. FIG. 39 shows a detailed circuit diagram of the data signal line drive circuit SD. The video signal dat inputted to a video signal line DAT is written into the data signal line SL by opening and closing a sampling circuit AS by means of an output pulse of each stage of a shift register circuit 1 synchronized with this video signal dat.

[0008] Describing the above more concretely, a signal of a sequence of output signals n of adjacent latch circuits SR constituting the shift register circuit 1 is amplified by a buffer circuit constructed of a plurality of inverter circuits, and an inversion signal is generated as the occasion demands to output a sampling signal s and its inverted signal /s to the sampling circuit (analog switch) AS. Then, the sampling circuit AS executes switching based on the sampling signals s and /s to supply the video data from the video signal line DAT to the data signal line SL. The clock signals cks and /cks to the latch circuits SR, output signals n1 through n3 of the latch circuits SR and sampling signals s1 and s2 in the above case are shown in FIGS. 40A through 40G.

[0009] FIG. 41 shows a detailed circuit construction of the scanning signal line drive circuit GD. In this scanning signal line drive circuit GD, the signal of the sequence of the output signals n of adjacent latch circuits SR that constitutes a shift register circuit 2 is obtained by NAND circuits, and by further taking an overlap with an external pulse width control signal gps, the desired pulse width is obtained. The clock signals ckg and /ckg to the latch circuits SR, the output signals n1 through n3 of the latch circuits SR, the pulse width control signal gps and scanning signals g11 and g12 to the scanning signal lines GL in the above case are shown in FIGS. 42A through 42H.

[0010] In this case, each latch circuit SR that constitutes the shift register circuits 1 and 2 in the data signal line drive circuit SD and the scanning signal line drive circuit GD has a construction as shown in FIG. 43. It is to be noted that FIG. 43 is an example of the latch circuit SR for constituting the shift register circuits 1 and 2 that can execute scanning only in one direction. In this case, a concrete construction example of a clocked inverter circuit 3 employed in the latch circuit SR is shown in FIG. 44. By contrast, when constituting a shift register circuit that can execute bidirectional scanning, a latch circuit SR as shown in FIG. 45 is employed. Either of these latch circuits SR is a half latch circuit, which latches the input signal with either one of the leading edge or the trailing edge of the clocks ck and /ck, outputs the output signal n of a pulse width of one cycle of the clocks ck and /ck.

[0011] In order to achieve the compacting, higher resolution, reduction in mounting cost and so on of liquid crystal display devices, a technique for integrally forming the pixel array ARY and the signal line drive circuits SD and GD, which manage the display, on an identical substrate is attracting a great deal of attention. In such a drive circuit integrated type liquid crystal display device, a transparent substrate must be employed as a substrate when constituting a transmission type liquid crystal display devices that are currently widely used. In the above case, it is often the case where a polysilicon thin-film transistor that can be formed on a quartz substrate or a glass substrate as an active element such as a transistor constituting the transistor SW of the pixel PIX or the clocked inverter circuit 3.

[0012] However, the aforementioned conventional liquid crystal display device has the problems as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 39, the data signal line drive circuit SD obtains the sampling signals s and /s on the basis of the signal of the sequence of the output signals n of adjacent two latch circuits SR. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 40A through 40G, the trailing edge of the sampling signal s1 corresponding to the adjacent data signal line SL1 and the leading edge of the sampling signal s2 corresponding to the adjacent data signal line SL2 roughly coincide with each other.

[0013] Therefore, if the waveforms of the sampling signals s and /s become dull or a slight deviation occurs in terms of timing between output signals n from adjacent two latch circuits SR as a consequence of a characteristic change of the transistors that constitutes, for example, the data signal line drive circuit SD, then there is the possibility of the occurrence of overlap between the sampling signals s1 and s2 corresponding to the adjacent data signal lines SL1 and SL2. In such a case, a noise is imposed on the data signal line SL, leading to a concern about the occurrence of troubles such as blur, ghost and crosstalk of the display image.

[0014] In the aforementioned conventional liquid crystal display device, the clock signals cks and ckg and start signals sps and spg and so on inputted to the shift register circuits 1 and 2 are externally directly inputted as signals of the same amplitudes as those of the power voltages of the drive circuits SD and GD, as exemplified by the clock signals cks and ckg shown in FIGS. 40A through 40G and FIGS. 42A through 42H. By contrast, in the drive circuit integrated type liquid crystal display device employing the polysilicon thin-film transistors, the transistor characteristics are inferior to those of the monocrystal silicon transistor, and in particular, the threshold voltage has a high absolute value of 1 V to 6 V. Therefore, the drive power voltage cannot help being increased up to 15 to 20 V. Therefore, in the case of the drive circuit integrated type liquid crystal display device, the clock signals cks and ckg and the start signals sps and spg and so on, which are externally directly inputted, are required to have an increased amplitude.

[0015] However, if the clock signals cks and ckg have an increased amplitude, then there occurs the problem that the consumption of power increases in the external circuits such as a control circuit (not shown) for generating the clock signal and the like. Furthermore, unwanted emission from the signal lines becomes a serious problem.

[0016] In order to solve the problem due to the increase in amplitude of the clock signals cks and ckg and so on as described above, it is proposed to mount a level shifter circuit (signal boost circuit) on the signal line drive circuits SD and GD side of the liquid crystal display device, thereby reducing the voltages of the input/output interfaces.

[0017] FIG. 46 shows the data signal line drive circuit SD mounted with the above level shifter circuit. In the data signal line drive circuit SD shown in FIG. 46, a level shifter circuit LS is arranged immediately before the shift register circuit 5. Then, the inputted clock signal cks and start signal sps are supplied to the shift register circuit 5 with their amplitude (5 V) boosted to 15 V. Thus, the operating voltage of 15 V is obtained with the input voltage of 5 V. However, when the polysilicon thin-film transistor is employed in this construction, the duty ratio of the boosted signal largely varies to cause a variation in terms of timing and amplitude of the output pulse n of the data signal line drive circuit SD due to its characteristic variation, and this may incur a reduction in image quality as a consequence of the superimposition of noises on the data signal line SL. Furthermore, since the driving capability of the level shifter circuit LS itself is low, there is necessitated a buffer for driving the subsequent signal lines, also causing the problem that the consumption of power increases.

[0018] FIG. 47 shows the scanning signal line drive circuit GD mounted with the aforementioned level shifter circuit. In the scanning signal line drive circuit GD shown in FIG. 47, the level shifter circuit LS is arranged immediately before the shift register circuit 6 and on a pulse width control signal line GPS. Then, the inputted clock signal ckg, start signal spg and pulse width control signal gps are supplied to the shift register circuit 6 or a NOR circuit with their amplitude (5 V) boosted to 15 V. Also in this case, there are the concern about a reduction in image quality and the problem of an increase in consumption of power, similar to the case of the data signal line drive circuit SD mounted with the level shifter circuit LS.

[0019] FIG. 48 and FIG. 49 are concrete circuit diagrams of the aforementioned level shifter circuit LS. In the figures, the reference numerals M1 and M2 denote p-type transistors, while the reference numerals M3 through M6 denote n-type transistors. FIG. 50 shows the waveforms of input signals in and /in and output signals out and /out of the level shifter circuit LS shown in FIG. 48 or FIG. 49.

[0020] As a method for removing the concern about the reduction in image quality and the problem of the increase in consumption of power, there is a method for providing each of the shift register circuits that constitute the signal line drive circuits SD and GD with a boosting function. According to this method, by virtue of the provision of the boosting function in the latch circuit of each stage that constitutes the shift register circuit, there is no need for a signal line driving use buffer for driving the signal lines between individual latch circuits. Furthermore, since the outputs of the individual latch circuits are directly boosted instead of boosting the control signals such as the clock signal and the start signal which are inputted to the latch circuits, there can be obtained output pulse signals such as the sampling signals s and /s that are stable with respect to the characteristic variation of the transistors.

[0021] Note that, in the aforementioned level shifter circuit LS, the transistors into which the clock signals in and /in are inputted are required to have a high driving power because of the structures shown in FIG. 48 and FIG. 49. This causes another problem that the transistors have an increased gate area and the consequent increase in load and consumption of power of the clock signal line.

[0022] Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a shift register circuit of which the load of the clock signal line and the consumption of power are reduced to concurrently achieve a low-voltage interface and a low consumption of power with a boosting function incorporated in the latch circuit as well as an image display device that employs this shift register circuit and concurrently has a low consumption of power and a high display quality.

[0023] In order to achieve the aforementioned object, there is provided a latch circuit which receives a pulse signal and a clock signal as inputs and transmits the pulse signal in synchronization with the clock signal, the clock signal or the pulse signal having amplitude smaller than amplitude of the pulse signal outputted from the latch circuit.

[0024] According to the above construction, the amplitude of the clock signal can be reduced when there is a need for increasing the amplitude of the output of the latch circuit or the shift register circuit that employs a plurality of latch circuits or when the latch circuit or the shift register circuit does not correctly operate unless the drive voltage is increased to a certain degree or higher. Therefore, the load of the external circuit for generating the clock signal is reduced, thereby allowing the consumption of power to be reduced.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit further comprises a first circuit having a voltage holding function and a second circuit having a level shifting function, the first and second circuits being constructed so as to own some common elements.

[0026] According to the above construction, there is a smaller number of elements and the circuit size is reduced, and this allows the reduction in consumption of power, the improvement of the operating frequency and the reduction in manufacturing cost.

[0027] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit is supplied with a power potential, and an element for controlling the voltage holding function or the level shifting function of the input signal is provided between the power potential and the second circuit.

[0028] According to the above construction, the circuit operation can be controlled by controlling the power supply to the second circuit by means of the above element, and this allows the remarkable simplification of the circuit construction for the control and the suppression of consumption of power in the circuit that is not operating.

[0029] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0030] a first p-type transistor and a second p-type transistor, having source electrodes connected to the power potential and gate electrodes connected to drain electrodes of the counterparts;

[0031] a first n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to a ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor;

[0032] a second n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor;

[0033] a third n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives the pulse signal as an input;

[0034] a fourth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the third n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the clock signal as an input;

[0035] a fifth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives an inverted signal of the pulse signal as an input; and

[0036] a sixth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the fifth n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the clock signal as an input,

[0037] whereby the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor.

[0038] According to the above construction, the latch circuit having the above structure also operates as a normal level shifter circuit that has a function for boosting and outputting the input signal when the clock signal is in the active state and operates as a hold circuit for holding the internal state when the clock signal is in the inactive state. Therefore, this latch circuit operates as a latch circuit having a level shifting function. Accordingly, if the shift register circuit is constructed by combining these circuits, then the amplitude of the clock signal can be made smaller than the amplitude of the pulse signal to be scanned, i.e., the power voltage of the shift register circuit.

[0039] Furthermore, the inverted signal of the clock signal is not inputted to this latch circuit, and therefore, the circuit scale is reduced. Furthermore, the load of the clock signal fine is reduced to allow the load of the external circuit to be reduced.

[0040] Furthermore, also in this latch circuit, a current flows only when the output signal is inverted instead of the consistent flow of the current when the clock signal level changes, and this provides the merit that almost no increase in consumption of power occurs.

[0041] Furthermore, there are only eight transistors that constitute this latch circuit, and therefore, the level shifting function and the latch function can be concurrently achieved with the very small number of-elements.

[0042] Furthermore, this latch circuit operates with a delay of one stage of the logic gate at any timing of operation, also with regard to the internal delay, and therefore, the circuit can be operated at very high speed.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0044] a first p-type transistor and a second p-type transistor, having source electrodes connected to the power potential and gate electrodes connected to drain electrodes of the counterparts;

[0045] a first n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor;

[0046] a seventh n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives an inverted signal of the clock signal as an input;

[0047] a second n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor;

[0048] an eighth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the inverted signal of the clock signal as an input;

[0049] a third n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives the pulse signal as an input;

[0050] a fourth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the third n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the clock signal as an input;

[0051] a fifth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives an inverted signal of the pulse signal as an input; and

[0052] a sixth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the fifth n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the clock signal as an input,

[0053] whereby the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor.

[0054] According to the above construction, the latch circuit operates as a normal level shifter circuit that has a function for boosting and outputting the input signal when the clock signal is in the active state and operates as a hold circuit for holding the internal state when the clock signal is in the inactive state. Therefore, this latch circuit operates as a latch circuit having a level shifting function. Accordingly, if the shift register circuit is constructed by combining these circuits, then the amplitude of the clock signal can be made smaller than the amplitude of the pulse signal to be scanned, i.e., the power voltage of the shift register circuit.

[0055] Furthermore, the clock signal and its inverted signal are inputted to this latch circuit. The signal path of the hold circuit is completely interrupted when the latch circuit operates as a level shifter circuit, and the signal path of the level shifter circuit is completely interrupted when the latch circuit operates as a hold circuit. Therefore, a stable operation is ensured. That is, the operating margin increases to allow the circuit to be able to cope with a lowered voltage of the input signal and an increase in operating speed.

[0056] Furthermore, in this latch circuit, a current flows only when the output signal is inverted instead of the consistent flow of the current when the clock signal level changes, and this provides the merit that almost no increase in consumption of power occurs.

[0057] Furthermore, there are only ten transistors that constitute this latch circuit, and therefore, the level shifting function and the latch function can be concurrently achieved with the very small number of elements.

[0058] Furthermore, in this latch circuit, there is one current path and the circuit operates with a delay of one stage of the logic gate at any timing of operation, also with regard to the internal delay. Therefore, the circuit can be operated at very high speed.

[0059] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0060] a first p-type transistor and a second p-type transistor, having source electrodes connected to the power potential and gate electrodes connected to drain electrodes of the counterparts;

[0061] a first n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor;

[0062] a second n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor;

[0063] a third n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives the pulse signal as an input;

[0064] a fifth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives an inverted signal of the pulse signal as an input; and

[0065] a ninth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrodes of the third and fifth n-type transistors, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the clock signal as an input; and

[0066] a tenth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrodes of the first and second n-type transistors, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the inverted signal of the clock signal as an input,

[0067] whereby the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor.

[0068] According to the above construction, in addition to the aforementioned effects, there are eight constituent transistors in the latch circuit, the number being smaller than in the construction of the aforementioned embodiment. Therefore, a shift register circuit having a very small circuit scale can be constructed.

[0069] Furthermore, numbers of inputs of the clock signal and its inverted signal are reduced by half, and this also provides the merit that the capacity of the clock signal line is reduced, thereby allowing the load of the external circuit to be reduced.

[0070] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0071] a first p-type transistor and a second p-type transistor, having source electrodes connected to the power potential and gate electrodes connected to drain electrodes of the counterparts;

[0072] a first n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to a ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor;

[0073] a second n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor;

[0074] a third n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives the pulse signal as an input;

[0075] a fifth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives an inverted signal of the pulse signal as an input; and

[0076] a ninth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrodes of the third and fifth n-type transistors, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the clock signal as an input,

[0077] whereby the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor.

[0078] According to the latch circuit having the above structure, in addition to the aforementioned effects, there are seven constituent transistors, the number being smaller than in the construction of the above embodiment. Therefore, a shift register circuit having a very small circuit scale can be constructed.

[0079] Furthermore, numbers of inputs of the clock signal and its inverted signal are reduced by half, and this also provides the merit that the capacity of the clock signal line is reduced, thereby allowing the load of the external circuit to be reduced.

[0080] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit is comprised of first and second logical product and non-disjunction circuits,

[0081] the logical product circuit section of the first logical product and non-disjunction circuit receiving the clock signal and the pulse signal as inputs, the non-disjunction circuit section of the first logical product and non-disjunction circuit receiving an output signal of the logical product circuit section and an output signal of the second logical product and non-disjunction circuit as inputs,

[0082] the logical product circuit section of the second logical product and non-disjunction circuit receiving the clock signal and the inverted signal of the pulse signal as inputs, and the non-disjunction circuit section of the second logical product and non-disjunction circuit receiving an output signal of the logical product circuit section and an output signal of the first logical product and non-disjunction circuit.

[0083] In the above construction, the input signal is taken in only when the clock signal is in the active state, and the internal state is held when the clock signal is in the inactive state. Therefore, this latch circuit operates as a latch circuit having a level shifting function. If the shift register circuit is constructed by combining these circuits, the amplitude of the clock signal can be made smaller than the amplitude of the pulse signal to be scanned, i.e., the power voltage of the shift register circuit.

[0084] The logical product and non-disjunction circuit can be constructed as one logic gate, and this allows the reduction in circuit scale.

[0085] In an embodiment of the present invention, the logical product and non-disjunction circuit comprises:

[0086] a first p-type transistor and a second p-type transistor having source electrodes connected to the power potential and gate electrodes connected to the drain electrodes of the counterparts;

[0087] a first n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the output signal of the other logical product and non-disjunction circuit as an input;

[0088] an eleventh n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives the inverted signal of the clock signal;

[0089] a third n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives the pulse signal as an input;

[0090] a fourth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the third n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the clock signal as an input;

[0091] a fifth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives the inverted signal of the pulse signal as an input; and

[0092] a twelfth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrodes of the eleventh and fifth n-type transistors, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the inverted signal of the output signal of the other logical product and non-disjunction circuit as an input,

[0093] whereby the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the pulse signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor.

[0094] According to the above construction, such a logical product and non-disjunction circuit correctly operates even when the input signal is smaller than the power voltage in the case where the logical product and non-disjunction circuit is applied to a logic circuit (logical product and non-disjunction circuit) having, for example, a shift register function. Therefore, if the shift register circuit is constructed by combining these circuits, the amplitude of the clock signal can be made smaller than the amplitude of the pulse signal to be scanned, i.e., the power voltage of the shift register circuit.

[0095] Furthermore, in this logical product and non-disjunction circuit, a current flows only when the output signal is inverted independently of the change in level of the input signal, and this provides the merit that almost no increase in consumption of power occurs.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0097] a first non-conjunction circuit that receives the clock signal and the pulse signal as inputs;

[0098] a second non-conjunction circuit that receives the clock signal and the inverted signal of the pulse signal as inputs;

[0099] a third non-conjunction circuit that receives an output signal of the first non-conjunction circuit and an output signal of a fourth non-conjunction circuit as inputs; and

[0100] the fourth non-conjunction circuit that receives an output signal of the second non-conjunction circuit and an output signal of the third non-conjunction circuit as inputs.

[0101] According to the above construction, the input signal is taken into the non-conjunction circuit only when the clock signal is in the active state and is not taken in when the clock signal is in the inactive state, so that the internal state is held. Therefore, this latch circuit operates as a latch circuit having a level shifting function. Accordingly, if the shift register circuit is constructed by combining these circuits, the amplitude of the clock signal can be made smaller than the amplitude of the pulse signal to be scanned, i.e., the power voltage of the shift register circuit.

[0102] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first and second non-conjunction circuits comprises:

[0103] a first p-type transistor and a second p-type transistor, having source electrodes connected to the power potential and gate electrodes connected to the drain electrodes of the counterparts;

[0104] a third n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor and a gate electrode that receives the pulse signal as an input;

[0105] a fourth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the third n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the clock signal as an input;

[0106] a thirteenth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the inverted signal of the pulse signal as an input; and

[0107] a fourteenth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode that receives the inverted signal of the clock signal as an input,

[0108] whereby the output signal of the first non-conjunction circuit is outputted from the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the output signal is outputted from the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor.

[0109] According to the above construction, if such a non-conjunction circuit is applied to a logic circuit (non-conjunction circuit) having, for example, a level shifting function, then the circuit correctly operates even when the input signal is smaller than the power voltage. Therefore, if the shift register circuit is constructed by combining this with the normal non-conjunction circuit, then the amplitude of the clock signal can be made smaller than the amplitude of the pulse signal to be scanned, i.e., the power voltage of the shift register circuit.

[0110] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0111] first and second p-type transistors having source electrodes connected to the power potential;

[0112] third and fourth p-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the first and second p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected to the clock signal;

[0113] third and fifth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected respectively to an input pulse signal and an inverted signal of the input pulse signal;

[0114] fourth and sixth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fifth n-type transistors, gate electrodes connected to the clock signal, and drain electrodes connected to the ground potential; and

[0115] first and second n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors, gate electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the fourth and third p-type transistors, and drain electrodes connected to the ground potential,

[0116] whereby the output pulse is outputted from the drain electrode of the fourth p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the output pulse is outputted from the drain electrode of the third p-type transistor.

[0117] According to the above construction, the third and fourth p-type transistors of which the gate electrodes receive the clock signal as the input are incorporated. With this arrangement, the p-type transistors operate so as to limit the current from the power potential side in the operating stage when the output node that outputs the output pulse or its inverted signal comes to have the low level (ground potential), thereby increasing the operating margin.

[0118] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0119] first and second p-type transistors having source electrodes connected to the power potential;

[0120] third and fourth p-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the first and second p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected to the clock signal;

[0121] third and fifth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected respectively to an input pulse signal and an inverted signal of the input pulse signal;

[0122] fourth and sixth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fifth n-type transistors, gate electrodes connected to the clock signal, and drain electrodes connected to the ground potential;

[0123] first and second n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the fourth and third p-type transistors; and

[0124] seventh and eighth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the first and second n-type transistors, gate electrodes connected to the inverted signal of the clock signal, and drain electrodes connected to the ground potential,

[0125] whereby the output pulse is outputted from the drain electrode of the fourth p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the output pulse is outputted from the drain electrode of the third p-type transistor.

[0126] According to the above construction, the third and fourth p-type transistors of which the gate electrodes receive the clock signal as the input are incorporated. With this arrangement, the p-type transistors operate so as to limit the current from the power potential side in the operating stage when the output node that outputs the output pulse or its inverted signal comes to have the low level (ground potential), thereby increasing the operating margin.

[0127] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0128] first and second p-type transistors having source electrodes connected to the power potential;

[0129] third and fourth p-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the first and second p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected to the clock signal;

[0130] fifth and sixth p-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the first and second p-type transistors, gate electrodes connected respectively to an input pulse signal and an inverted signal of the input pulse signal, and drain electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors;

[0131] third and fifth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected respectively to the input pulse signal and the inverted signal of the input pulse signal;

[0132] fourth and sixth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fifth n-type transistors, gate electrodes connected to the clock signal, and drain electrodes connected to the ground potential; and

[0133] first and second n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors, gate electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the fourth and third p-type transistors, and drain electrodes connected to the ground potential;

[0134] whereby the output pulse is outputted from the drain electrode of the fourth p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the output pulse is outputted from the drain electrode of the third p-type transistor.

[0135] According to the above construction, the third and fourth p-type transistors of which the gate electrodes receive the clock signal as the input as well as the fifth and sixth p-type transistors of which the gate electrodes receive the input pulse signal and its inverted signal as the inputs are incorporated. With this arrangement, the p-type transistors operate so as to limit the current from the power potential side in the operating stage when the output node that outputs the output pulse or its inverted signal comes to have the low level (ground potential), thereby increasing the operating margin.

[0136] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0137] first and second p-type transistors having source electrodes connected to the power potential;

[0138] third and fourth p-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the first and second p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected to the clock signal;

[0139] fifth and sixth p-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the first and second p-type transistors, gate electrodes connected respectively to an input pulse signal and an inverted signal of the input pulse signal, and drain electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors;

[0140] third and fifth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected respectively to the input pulse signal and the inverted signal of the input pulse signal;

[0141] fourth and sixth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fifth n-type transistors, gate electrodes connected to the clock signal, and drain electrodes connected to the ground potential;

[0142] first and second n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the third and fourth p-type transistors, and gate electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the fourth and third p-type transistors; and

[0143] seventh and eighth n-type transistors having source electrodes connected respectively to the drain electrodes of the first and second n-type transistors, gate electrodes connected to an inverted signal of the clock signal, and drain electrodes connected to the ground potential,

[0144] whereby the output pulse is outputted from the drain electrode of the fourth p-type transistor, and the inverted signal of the output pulse is outputted from the drain electrode of the third p-type transistor.

[0145] According to the above construction, the third and fourth p-type transistors of which the gate electrodes receive the clock signal as the input as well as the fifth and sixth p-type transistors of which the gate electrodes receive the input pulse signal and its inverted signal as the inputs are incorporated. With this arrangement, the p-type transistors operate so as to limit the current from the power potential side in the operating stage when the output node that outputs the output pulse or its inverted signal comes to have the low level (ground potential), thereby increasing the operating margin.

[0146] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first, second, third and fifth n-type transistors have a dual-gate structure, and the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth n-type transistors have a single-gate structure.

[0147] According to the above construction, if the transistor located on the ground potential side has the single-gate structure and the transistor located on the output terminal side has the dual-gate structure in the case where the transistor is directly connected between the output terminal of the latch circuit and the ground terminal, then the reduction in the number of elements and the ensuring of the elemental breakdown voltage can be concurrently achieved. In general, with regard to a plurality of transistors connected in series, the higher voltage is applied to the drain side (the higher potential side in the case of the n-type transistor and the lower potential side in the case of the p-type transistor) as compared with the source side (the lower potential side in the case of the n-type transistor and the higher potential side in the case of the p-type transistor). Therefore, it is effective to make the transistor located on the drain side have the dual-gate structure, thereby increasing the elemental breakdown voltage. Since only the relatively low voltage is applied to the source side, the load can be reduced by adopting the single-gate structure, so that the high-speed operation of the shift register circuit and the reduction in the number of elements can be achieved.

[0148] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first, second, third and fifth n-type transistors have a channel length longer than the channel length of the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth n-type transistors.

[0149] According to the latch circuit having the above construction, in the case where a plurality of transistors are directly connected between the output terminal of the latch circuit and the ground terminal similar to the above case, the reduction in the number of elements and the ensuring of the elemental breakdown voltage can be concurrently achieved also by making the channel length of the transistor located on the output terminal side longer than the channel length of the transistor located on the ground potential side. As described above, with regard to the plurality of transistors connected in series, the higher voltage is applied to the drain side (the higher potential side in the case of the n-type transistor and the lower potential side in the case of the p-type transistor) as compared with the source side (the lower potential side in the case of the n-type transistor and the higher potential side in the case of the p-type transistor). Therefore, it is effective to make the transistor located on the drain side have the longer channel length, thereby increasing the elemental breakdown voltage. Since only the relatively low voltage is applied to the source side, the load can be reduced by reducing the channel length, so that the high-speed operation of the shift register circuit and the reduction in the number of elements can be achieved.

[0150] Also, there is provided a shift register circuit having a plurality of latch circuits for transmitting a pulse signal in synchronization with a clock signal,

[0151] the latch circuits each internally having a clock signal input control section for executing control to input and stop the supplied clock signal, and

[0152] the clock signal having amplitude smaller than the amplitude of the pulse signal.

[0153] According to the above construction, the amplitude of the clock signal is smaller than the amplitude of the pulse signal, i.e., smaller than the power voltage for transmitting the pulse signal. Therefore, the pulse signal having large amplitude can be transmitted without increasing the consumption of power of the external circuit for generating the clock signal. In the above case, the reduction of the load and the reduction in consumption of power of the clock signal line are achieved by stopping the input of the clock signal supplied to each of the latch circuits constructed of the active elements that are required to have a high driving power by means of the clock signal input control section when the latch circuit is inactive.

[0154] In am embodiment of the present invention, the clock signal inputted to the latch circuits is only either one of a clock signal of a specified cycle and an antiphase signal of the clock signal.

[0155] According to the above construction, the latch circuit operates in synchronization with only either one of the clock signal and its antiphase signal. Therefore, the load of the clock signal line is reduced by half to reduce the consumption of power as compared with the case where both the signals of the clock signal ck and the inverted clock signal /ck are used as in the conventional latch circuits SR shown in FIG. 43.

[0156] In an embodiment of the present invention, an output signal of each of the latch circuits is inputted to the latch circuit of the succeeding stage via a first transfer gate and inputted to the latch circuit of the preceding stage via a second transfer gate, and a scanning direction is controlled by selectively making conductive the first or second transfer gate by means of an external signal.

[0157] According to the shift register circuit having the above construction, the output signal of each latch circuit is inputted to the latch circuits of the preceding stage and the succeeding stage via the first and second transfer gates, respectively, and the scanning direction of the shift register is controlled by making one of the first and second transfer gates conductive by the external signal.

[0158] In the shift register circuit having the above construction, the direction in which the pulse signal propagates can be set in either direction by the input signal to the transfer gate, and therefore, a shift register circuit that can execute scanning in both the directions can be constructed.

[0159] In an embodiment of the present invention, an output signal of each of the latch circuits is inputted to the latch circuit of the succeeding stage via a buffer circuit.

[0160] In the shift register circuit having the above construction, if there is provided the construction in which, for example, the output pulse signal of the latch circuit is inputted to the latch circuit of the next stage via the buffer circuit, then the driving power with respect to the next stage can be increased by adding the buffer circuit even in the latch circuit with a level shifting function having a relatively small driving power, so that the stable operation and high-speed operation of the shift register circuit can be achieved.

[0161] In an embodiment of the present invention, the clock signal input control section is comprised of a first clock signal input control section and a second clock signal input control section, and the latch circuit comprises:

[0162] a first p-type transistor and a second p-type transistor having source electrodes connected to a power potential and gate electrodes connected to drain electrodes of the counterparts;

[0163] a first n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to a ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor;

[0164] a second n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor;

[0165] a third n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor and a gate electrode connected to a pulse signal input node;

[0166] a fourth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the third n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the first clock signal input control section;

[0167] a fifth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor and a gate electrode connected to an inverted pulse signal input node; and

[0168] a sixth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the fifth n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the second clock signal input control section,

[0169] whereby the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor is made to serve as a pulse signal output node and the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor is made to serve as an inverted pulse signal output node.

[0170] According to the above construction, the fourth n-type transistor is turned on when the clock signal inputted from the first clock signal input control section becomes active and the third n-type transistor is turned on when the level of the input pulse signal becomes “H”, so that the inverted pulse signal output node comes to have the ground potential. Then, the second p-type transistor is turned on, so that the pulse signal output node comes to have the power potential after a delay behind the trailing edge of the output signal of the inverted pulse signal output node. Therefore, the first p-type transistor is turned off to fix the potential of the inverted pulse signal output node at the ground potential. The fifth n-type transistor is turned off since the input inverted pulse signal is “L”, and the second n-type transistor is turned off since the inverted pulse signal output node has the ground potential. Thus, the potential of the pulse signal output node is fixed to the power potential. That is, the above latch circuit operates as a level shifter circuit as a consequence of the output of the pulse signal having the amplitude of the power voltage even though the amplitude of the clock signal is small in the case where the input pulse signal and the output pulse signal have the level “H” and the clock signal is active, and the latch circuit operates as a level hold circuit in any other case. Therefore, according to the shift register circuit constructed by serially connecting a plurality of the latch circuits, a pulse signal having greater amplitude is transmitted in synchronization with the clock signal having small amplitude.

[0171] Furthermore, the above latch circuit necessitates the clock signal only when this latch circuit is in the active state. Therefore, when the latch circuit is in the inactive state, the reduction of load and the reduction in consumption of power of the clock signal line are achieved by stopping the input of the clock signal by the first and second clock signal input control sections.

[0172] Furthermore, the pulse signal from the pulse signal output node rises after a delay behind the trailing edge of the pulse signal from the inverted pulse signal output node. Therefore, the pulse width of the output pulse signal of the pulse signal output node is consistently narrower than the pulse width of the output pulse signal of the inverted pulse signal output node. By using the output pulse signal of the pulse signal output node of each latch circuit, the occurrence of time overlap of the output signals from adjacent latch circuits is eliminated.

[0173] In an embodiment of the present invention, the latch circuit comprises:

[0174] a first inverter having an input terminal connected to the inverted pulse signal output node; and

[0175] a second inverter having an input terminal connected to the pulse signal output node,

[0176] whereby the output terminal of the first inverter is made to serve as a new pulse signal output node and the output terminal of the second inverter is made to serve as a new inverted pulse signal output node.

[0177] According to the above construction, the pulse signal from the inverted pulse signal output node falls after a delay behind the leading edge of the pulse signal from the pulse signal output node. Therefore, the pulse width of the output pulse signal of the inverted pulse signal output node is consistently narrower than the pulse width of the output pulse signal of the pulse signal output node. By using the output pulse signal of the inverted pulse signal output node of each latch circuit, the occurrence of time overlap of the output signals from adjacent latch circuits is eliminated.

[0178] Furthermore, the dull edges of the output pulse signal and the output inverted pulse signal due to the operating delay of the transistors constituting the latch circuits are compensated by the buffering operation (amplifying operation) of the inverter. Particularly, in the present shift register circuit constructed of the multistage latch circuits, the signal compensation is effected immediately behind or immediately before the latch circuit of each stage, and therefore, the occurrence of summation of the signal delays of the latch circuits can be prevented. Therefore, a stable operation can be achieved even with the series of multi-stage latch circuits.

[0179] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first clock signal input control section is comprised of a switching means for electrically disconnecting the gate electrode of the fourth n-type transistor from the clock signal input node when the latch circuit becomes inactive and a potential fixing means for fixing the potential of the gate electrode of the fourth n-type transistor that is electrically disconnected from the clock signal input node at a specified potential, and

[0180] the second clock signal input control section is comprised of a switching means for electrically disconnecting the gate electrode of the sixth n-type transistor from the clock signal input node when the latch circuit becomes inactive and a potential fixing means for fixing the potential of the gate electrode of the sixth n-type transistor that is electrically disconnected from the clock signal input node at a specified potential.

[0181] According to the above construction, if there is effected electrical disconnection between the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors and the clock signal input node by the switching means of the first and second clock signal input control sections, the potentials of the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors are fixed to a specified value by the potential fixing means. Thus, the erroneous operation that may occur during the period of transition from the active state into the inactive state of the latch circuit is prevented.

[0182] In an embodiment of the present invention, the switching means of the first clock signal input control section is comprised of a fifteenth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the clock signal input node, a drain electrode connected to the gate electrode of the fourth n-type transistor and a gate electrode connected to the pulse signal input node, and

[0183] the switching means of the second clock signal input control section is comprised of a sixteenth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the clock signal input node, a drain electrode connected to the gate electrode of the sixth n-type transistor and a gate electrode connected to the pulse signal output node.

[0184] According to the above construction, the fifteenth and sixteenth n-type transistors are turned off when the pulse signal inputted to the gate electrodes of the fifteenth and sixteenth n-type transistors is “L”, or when the latch circuit is in the inactive state, thereby stopping the input of the clock signal into the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors. Thus, the latch circuit operation shifts into the operation as a level hold circuit.

[0185] In an embodiment of the present invention, the potential fixing means of the first clock signal input control section is comprised of a seventeenth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the gate electrode of the fourth n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the power potential, and

[0186] the potential fixing means of the second clock signal input control section is comprised of an eighteenth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the gate electrode of the sixth n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the power potential.

[0187] According to the above construction, the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors are fixed to the ground potential when the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors and the clock signal input node are electrically disconnected from each other by the switching means. Thus, the erroneous operation that may occur during the period of transition from the active state into the inactive state of the latch circuit is prevented. Furthermore, by constituting the potential fixing means by a transistor, the elemental area becomes smaller than when the means is constructed of a resistor.

[0188] In an embodiment of the present invention, the potential fixing means of the first clock signal input control section is comprised of a nineteenth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the gate electrode of the fourth n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to its own source electrode, and

[0189] the potential fixing means of the second clock signal input control section is comprised of a twentieth n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the gate electrode of the sixth n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to its own source electrode.

[0190] According to the above construction, the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors are fixed to the threshold voltages of the nineteenth and twentieth n-type transistors when the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors and the clock signal input node are electrically disconnected from each other by the switching means. Thus, the erroneous operation that may occur during the period of transition from the inactive state into the active state of the latch circuit is prevented. Furthermore, the wiring on the circuit is simplified and the circuit area is reduced as compared with the case of the preveous embodiment in which the gate electrodes of the nineteenth and twentieth n-type transistors are connected to the power potential.

[0191] In an embodiment of the present invention, the potential fixing means of the first clock signal input control section is comprised of a first resistor provided between the gate electrode of the fourth n-type transistor and the ground potential, and

[0192] the potential fixing means of the second clock signal input control section is comprised of a second resistor provided between the gate electrode of the sixth n-type transistor and the ground potential.

[0193] According to the above construction, the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors are fixed to the ground potential when the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors and the clock signal input node are electrically disconnected from each other by the switching means. Thus, the erroneous operation that may occur during the period of transition from the inactive state into the active state of the latch circuit is prevented. Furthermore, the manufacturing process becomes simple since the structure of the potential fixing means is simplified. Furthermore, the circuit area is reduced by the multi-layer arrangement in which the resistor is provided below the wiring.

[0194] In an embodiment of the present invention, the potential fixing means of the first clock signal input control section is comprised of a twenty-first n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the gate electrode of the fourth n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the inverted pulse signal input node, and

[0195] the potential fixing means of the second clock signal input control section is comprised of a twenty-second n-type transistor having a source electrode connected to the gate electrode of the sixth n-type transistor, a drain electrode connected to the ground potential and a gate electrode connected to the inverted pulse signal output node.

[0196] According to the above construction, the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors are fixed to the ground potential when the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors and the clock signal input node are electrically disconnected from each other by the switching means. Thus, the erroneous operation that may occur during the period of transition from the inactive state into the active state of the latch circuit is prevented. By contrast, when the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors and the clock signal input node are electrically connected to each other by the switching means, the twenty-first and twenty-second n-type transistors are turned off to prevent the conducting current from the gate electrodes of the fourth and sixth n-type transistors to the ground potential.

[0197] Also, there is provided an active matrix type image display device comprising: a plurality of data signal lines arranged in a direction of column; a plurality of scanning signal lines arranged in a direction of row; a plurality of pixels that are arranged in a matrix form while being placed in positions surrounded by the data signal lines and the scanning signal lines; a data signal line drive circuit for supplying a video signal to the data signal lines; and a scanning signal line drive circuit for supplying a scanning signal to the scanning signal lines,

[0198] at least one of the data signal line drive circuit and the scanning signal line drive circuit being comprised of the shift register circuit claimed in any one of claims 18 through 29.

[0199] According to the above construction, either one of the data signal line drive circuit and the scanning signal line drive circuit is constructed of the shift register circuit according to any one of the eighteenth through twenty-ninth aspects of the invention. Therefore, the one signal line drive circuit is driven by the clock signal that has amplitude smaller than the amplitude of the transfer pulse signal (i.e., the power voltage). With this arrangement, the consumption of power of the clock wiring that has a large wiring load capacity due to the long wiring length and the consumption of power of the external circuit for generating the clock are remarkably reduced. Furthermore, when the latch circuit that constitutes the shift register circuit of the signal line drive circuit is in the inactive state, the input of the clock signal into the shift register circuit is stopped by the clock signal input control section, so that the load of the clock signal line is reduced.

[0200] In an embodiment of the present invention, one of the signal line drive circuits is comprised of the shift register circuit claimed in claim 22 and

[0201] constructed so as to generate a drive signal for driving the corresponding signal line by means of an output signal that has a narrower pulse width out of the two output signals of the pulse signal and the inverted pulse signal from each latch circuit constituting the shift register circuit.

[0202] According to the above construction, by generating the drive signal by means of the output signal having the narrower pulse width out of the output pulse signal and the output inverted pulse signal, the occurrence of time overlap of the output signals from the adjacent latch circuits is eliminated. Therefore, in the case where the one signal line drive circuit is the data signal line drive circuit, the sampling signals generated by the adjacent latch circuits do not overlap each other in terms of time. Accordingly, there is no occurrence of the start of writing the video signal into the other data signal line while a video signal is being written into a certain data signal line. In the case of the scanning signal line drive circuit, the scanning signals generated by the adjacent latch circuits do not overlap each other in terms of time. Accordingly, there is no occurrence of the start of writing of the video data into the pixels of the other row while video data are being written into the pixels of a certain row. That is, no noise is superimposed on the video signal in either case of the signal line drive circuits, so that a satisfactory image can be obtained without additionally incorporating any circuit for narrowing the pulse width of the drive signal.

[0203] In general, a large through current flows through the level shifter circuit at the time of change of a signal in the above case. However, in the construction of this latch circuit, the through current flows only at the time of change of the output signal (i.e., when the pulse signal is propagating), not at the time of change of the clock signal. Therefore, the consumption of power becomes extremely small.

[0204] In an embodiment of the present invention, the image display device comprises:

[0205] a level shifter circuit that amplifies the amplitude of a start signal having the same amplitude as that of the clock signal and supplies the resulting signal as the pulse signal to the latch circuit of the first stage in the shift register circuit of the one signal line drive circuit.

[0206] According to the above construction, in the one signal line drive circuit, the start signal is inputted to the latch circuit of the first stage of the shift register circuit after being preliminarily boosted. Therefore, even though the latch circuit of the first stage is made to have quite the same construction as that of the latch circuit of the other stage, a stable operation is achieved. Furthermore, the amplitude of the start signal can be made smaller than that of the drive voltage similar to the case of the clock signal, so that the consumption of power of the external circuit for generating the start signal can be reduced.

[0207] In an embodiment of the present invention, an image display device comprises:

[0208] a level shifter circuit that amplifies the amplitude of a control signal having the same amplitude as that of the clock signal and supplies the resulting signal to the one signal line drive circuit.

[0209] According to the above construction, the control signal is inputted to the buffer circuit and so on other than the shift register circuit after being preliminarily boosted. Therefore, the amplitude of all the control signals inputted to the one signal line drive circuit can be made smaller than that of the drive voltage, so that the consumption of power of the external circuit for generating the control signal can be reduced.

[0210] In an embodiment of the present invention, the one signal line drive circuit is formed on a substrate identical to that of the pixels.

[0211] According to the above construction, the pixels for performing display and the one signal line drive circuit for driving the pixels are fabricated on an identical substrate through identical processes. Thus, the reduction in manufacturing cost and mounting cost and the increase in yield of the mounted products are achieved.

[0212] In an embodiment of the present invention, an active element that constitutes each of the one signal line drive circuit and the pixels is a polysilicon thin-film transistor.

[0213] According to the above construction, by employing the polysilicon thin-film transistor that has an extremely high driving power as compared with the amorphous silicon thin-film transistor employed in the conventional active matrix type liquid crystal display device, the pixels and the signal line drive circuits are easily formed on the identical substrate.

[0214] Furthermore, the polysilicon thin-film transistor has a driving power that is one or two orders of magnitude smaller than the monocrystal silicon transistor although the driving power is much higher than that of the amorphous silicon thin-film transistor. Therefore, if the level shifter circuit is constructed of the polysilicon thin-film transistor, then there is a concern about a significant change in duty ratio of the signal. However, according to the structure of the shift register circuit in the one signal line drive circuit, output signals of an approximately same pulse width can be obtained from the latch circuit of any stage of the shift register circuit, and satisfactory image display is achieved. In the above case, the polysilicon thin-film transistor becomes a large load of the clock signal line since a large channel width must be provided due to its low driving power. However, according to the construction of the shift register circuit of the one signal line drive circuit, the clock signal line is connected to only the driving transistor of the latch circuit in the operating state by the first and second clock signal input control sections, so that the reduction of load of the clock signal line and the reduction in consumption of power of the drive circuit can be achieved.

[0215] In an embodiment of the present invention, the polysilicon thin-film transistor is formed on a glass substrate through a process at a temperature of not higher than 600° C.

[0216] According to the above construction, the polysilicon thin-film transistor is formed on the glass substrate through the processes at the temperature of not higher than 600° C. Therefore, the glass that is inexpensive and able to be easily processed to have a large size can be employed as the substrate although the strain point temperature is low, so that a large-size image display device is manufactured at low cost.

[0217] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

[0218] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the shift register circuit of the present invention;

[0219] FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the latch circuit of FIG. 1;

[0220] FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the latch circuit of FIG. 1;

[0221] FIGS. 4A through 4G are charts of waveforms of a clock signal, input pulse signals, output signals of a clock signal input control section and output pulse signals of FIG. 3;

[0222] FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the latch circuit constituting the shift register shown in FIG. 8;

[0223] FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the latch circuit of FIG. 1;

[0224] FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the latch circuit of FIG. 1;

[0225] FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the latch circuit of FIG. 1;

[0226] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a logical product and non-disjunction circuit constituting the latch circuit of FIG. 8;

[0227] FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the latch circuit of FIG. 1;

[0228] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a logical product and non-disjunction circuit constituting the latch circuit of FIG. 10;

[0229] FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the latch circuit of FIG. 1;

[0230] FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the latch circuit of FIG. 1;

[0231] FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the latch circuit of FIG. 1;

[0232] FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram showing a modification example of the latch circuit of FIG. 2;

[0233] FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram showing a modification example of the latch circuit of FIG. 5;

[0234] FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram showing another modification example of the latch circuit of FIG. 2;

[0235] FIG. 18 is a circuit diagram showing another modification example of the latch circuit of FIG. 5;

[0236] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the circuit construction of the clock signal input control section of FIG. 3;

[0237] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of the circuit construction different from that of FIG. 19;

[0238] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the circuit construction different from those of FIG. 19 and FIG. 20;

[0239] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the circuit construction different from those of FIG. 19 through FIG. 21;

[0240] FIG. 23 is a circuit diagram of a latch circuit different from that of FIG. 3;

[0241] FIGS. 24A through 24G are charts of waveforms of a clock signal, input pulse signals, output signals of a clock signal input control section and output pulse signals of FIG. 23;

[0242] FIG. 25 is a block diagram of a shift register circuit different from that of FIG. 1;

[0243] FIG. 26 is a circuit diagram of the latch circuit and the analog switch of FIG. 25;

[0244] FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing another example of the shift register circuit of the present invention;

[0245] FIG. 28 is a circuit diagram of a data signal line drive circuit employing the shift register circuit shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 25;

[0246] FIGS. 29A through 29J are charts of waveforms of clock signals to the latch circuits, output signals of the latch circuits and sampling signals of FIG. 26;

[0247] FIG. 30 is a circuit diagram of a data signal line drive circuit different from that of FIG. 28;

[0248] FIG. 31 is a circuit diagram of a scanning signal line drive circuit employing the shift register circuit shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 25;

[0249] FIGS. 32A through 32J are charts of waveforms of clock signals to the latch circuits, output signals of the latch circuits and scanning signals of FIG. 31;

[0250] FIG. 33 is a circuit diagram of a scanning signal line drive circuit different from that of FIG. 31;

[0251] FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram of the construction of a monolithic type liquid crystal display device that serves as an image display device of the present invention;

[0252] FIG. 35 is a sectional view of a polysilicon thin-film transistor employed in the liquid crystal display device of FIG. 34;

[0253] FIG. 36A through FIG. 36K are diagrams showing a procedure for fabricating the polysilicon thin-film transistor shown in FIG. 35;

[0254] FIG. 37 is a schematic diagram of the construction of an active matrix driving system liquid crystal display device;

[0255] FIG. 38 is a diagram showing the detail of the pixel of FIG. 37;

[0256] FIG. 39 is a diagram showing the detailed circuit construction of the data signal line drive circuit of FIG. 37;

[0257] FIGS. 40A through 40G are charts of waveforms of clock signals to the latch circuits, output signals of the latch circuits and sampling signals of FIG. 39;

[0258] FIG. 41 is a diagram showing the detailed circuit construction of the scanning signal line drive circuit of FIG. 37;

[0259] FIGS. 42A through 42H are charts of waveforms of clock signals to the latch circuits, output signals of the latch circuits, a pulse width control signal and scanning signals of FIG. 41;

[0260] FIG. 43 is a circuit diagram of the latch circuit of FIG. 39 and FIG. 41;

[0261] FIG. 44 is a diagram showing the concrete construction of the clocked inverter circuit of FIG. 43;

[0262] FIG. 45 is a circuit diagram of a latch circuit capable of executing bidirectional scanning;

[0263] FIG. 46 is a circuit diagram of the data signal line drive circuit mounted with a level shifter circuit;

[0264] FIG. 47 is a circuit diagram of the scanning signal line drive circuit mounted with a level shifter circuit;

[0265] FIG. 48 is a concrete circuit diagram of the level shifter circuit of FIG. 46 and FIG. 47;

[0266] FIG. 49 is a circuit diagram of the level shifter circuit different from that of FIG. 48; and

[0267] FIG. 50 is a chart of waveforms of input signals and output signals of FIG. 48 or FIG. 49.

[0268] The present invention will be described in detail below on the basis of the embodiments shown in the drawings.

[0269] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the shift register circuit mentioned in claim 14. This shift register circuit 11 is constructed by serially connecting a plurality of latch circuits (half latch circuits) LAT. That is, a start signal (pulse signal) st is inputted to the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the first stage, while the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the second stage is connected to the output node. Likewise, the input node of each latch circuit LAT is connected to the output node of the preceding stage, while the output node is connected to the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the succeeding stage. Then, a clock signal ck is inputted to the control nodes of the latch circuits LAT of the odd-number stages. In contrast to this, a clock signal /ck that is the inverted signal of the clock signal ck is inputted to the control nodes of the latch circuits LAT of the even-number stages.

[0270] Thus, the latch circuits LAT of the present embodiment are controlled by either one of the clock signals ck and the clock signal /ck. It is herein assumed that the clock signals ck and /ck have an amplitude of 5 V in contrast to the drive voltage of 16 V of the shift register circuit 11. As described above, by inputting the clock signals ck and /ck having the voltage lower than the drive voltage of the shift register circuit 11, the consumption of power of the clock signals ck and /ck can be suppressed. It is to be noted that some signals necessitate their inverted signals, however, no description is herein provided for them (described in detail later).

[0271] FIG. 2 shows a circuit diagram showing an example of the construction of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 4 that constitutes the shift register circuit 11 of FIG. 1. To the source electrodes of two p-type transistors M11 and M12 that serve as first and second p-type transistors is connected a power potential Vcc (=16 V). Then, the gate electrode of the p-type transistor M11 is connected to the drain electrode of the p-type transistor M12, while the gate electrode of the p-type transistor M12 is connected to the drain electrode of the p-type transistor M11.

[0272] To the drain electrode of the p-type transistor M11 is connected the source electrode of an n-type transistor M13 that serves as a first n-type transistor, thereby forming an output node /OUT. The drain electrode of the n-type transistor M13 is connected to the ground potential GND, while the gate electrode is connected to the drain electrode of the p-type transistor M12. Likewise, to the drain electrode of the p-type transistor M12 is connected the source electrode of an n-type transistor M14 that serves as a second n-type transistor, thereby forming an output node OUT. The drain electrode of the n-type transistor M14 is connected to the ground potential GND, while the gate electrode is connected to the drain electrode of the p-type transistor M11.

[0273] Further, between the drain electrode (output node /OUT) of the p-type transistor M11 and the ground potential GND are serially connected two n-type transistors M15 and M16 that serve as third and fourth n-type transistors. Then, a pulse signal is inputted from an input terminal IN to the gate electrode of the n-type transistor M15, while a clock signal is inputted from an input terminal CK to the gate electrode of the n-type transistor M16. Likewise, between the drain electrode (output node OUT) of the p-type transistor M12 and the ground potential GND are serially connected two n-type transistors M17 and M18 that serve as fifth and sixth n-type transistors. Then, an inverted signal of the above pulse signal is inputted from an input terminal /IN to the gate electrode of the n-type transistor M17, while the clock signal is inputted from an input terminal CK to the gate electrode of the n-type transistor M18.

[0274] FIG. 3 shows a latch circuit LAT that serves as an example of the shift register circuit mentioned in claim 18 constructed by incorporating the first and second clock signal input sections 12 and 13 to the latch circuit of FIG. 2.

[0275] The first clock signal input control section 12 has an input node, which is connected to the input terminal IN of the n-type transistor M15 and into which the above pulse signal is inputted as a first control signal, a clock input node CK into which the clock signal ck (clock signal /ck) is inputted and an output node CKIA connected to the gate of the n-type transistor M16. Then, the output node CKIA has the potential level “H” when the first control signal has the logic level “H” and the clock signal ck (/ck) is active.

[0276] The second clock signal input control section 13 has an input node, which is connected to the above output node OUT and into which the output pulse signal out is inputted as a second control signal, a clock input node CK into which the clock signal ck (/ck) is inputted and an output node CKIB connected to the gate of the n-type transistor M18. Then, the output node CKIB has the potential level “H” when the second control signal has the logic level “H” and the clock signal ck (/ck) is active.

[0277] The latch circuit LAT having the above construction operates as follows. FIG. 4 is a chart of the waveforms of the clock signal ck (/ck) inputted to the clock input node CK, the pulse signals in and /in inputted to the input nodes IN and /IN, an output signal ckia from the output node CKIA, an output signal ckib from the output node CKIB and pulse signals out and /out outputted from the output nodes OUT and /OUT. The operation of the latch circuit LAT will be described below with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. It is to be noted that the input pulse signal in is used as the first control signal and the output pulse signal out is used as the second control signal in the present embodiment.

[0278] First, at a time point t, in FIG. 4, the clock signal ck (/ck) becomes “H (active)”. Then, the input pulse signal in (first control signal) is “H”, and therefore, the output signal ckia from the output node CKIA of the first clock signal input control section 12 becomes “H”. Consequently, the n-type transistors M15 and M16 are turned on to make the output node /OUT have the GND level. Then, the gate potential of the p-type transistor M12 becomes “L”, and the p-type transistor M12 is turned on to make the output node OUT have the Vcc (16 V) level at a time point t₂. Therefore, the p-type transistor M11 is turned off to fix the potential of the output node /OUT at GND.

[0279] The output pulse signal out (second control signal) from the output node OUT is Vcc and the clock signal ck (/ck) is also “H”. Therefore, the output signal ckib from the second clock signal input control section 13 becomes “H” to turn on the n-type transistor M18. However, since the input pulse signal /in is “L”, the n-type transistor M17 is turned off. Further, since the output node /OUT is at the GND level, the p-type transistor M14 is off. Therefore, the potential of the output node OUT is fixed at Vcc.

[0280] That is, the latch circuit LAT of the present embodiment operates as a normal level shifter circuit as shown in FIG. 36 when the first and second control signals have the logic level “H” and the clock signal ck (/ck) is active.

[0281] Subsequently, at a time point t₃in FIG. 4, the clock signal ck (/ck) becomes “L”. Then, the output signals ckia and ckib from the first and second clock signal input control sections 12 and 13 become “L”. Therefore, the n-type transistors M16 and M18 are turned off and the latch circuit LAT operates simply as a level hold circuit, so that the level of the output node /OUT is kept at GND and the level of the output node OUT is kept at Vcc (16 V).

[0282] That is, the latch circuit LAT of the present embodiment operates as a level hold circuit except for the case where it operates as a level shifter circuit in the interval between the time point t₁and the time point t₃.

[0283] Subsequently, at a time point t₄, the clock signal ck (/ck) becomes “H”. Then, the output pulse signal out (second control signal) is “H”, and therefore, the output signal ckib from the output node CKIB of the second clock signal input control section 13 becomes “H”. The input inverted pulse signal /in is “H”. Consequently, the n-type transistors M17 and M18 are turned on, so that the output node OUT comes to have the GND level at a time point t₅and the output signal ckib becomes “L”. Then, the gate potential of the p-type transistor M11 becomes “L” to turn on the p-type transistor M11, and the output node /OUT comes to have the Vcc (16 V) level at a time point t₆.

[0284] As described above, the latch circuit LAT of the present embodiment operates as a level shifter circuit when the first and second control signals have the logic level “H” and the clock signal ck (/ck) is active and operates as a level hold circuit in any other case. That is, the present latch circuit LAT functions as a latch circuit having a level shifter function. Therefore, by constructing the shift register circuit 11 by serially connecting the plurality of the present latch circuits LAT as shown in FIG. 1, the circuit can be operated with a clock signal having an amplitude lower than the drive voltage (Vcc), so that the consumption of power of the external circuit for generating the clock signal can be reduced.

[0285] Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the leading edge of the output signal out is delayed behind the trailing edge of the output pulse signal /out. Therefore, if the shift register circuit 11 is constructed by serially connecting the plurality of the present latch circuits LAT, then a specified time interval can be provided between the leading edges of the output pulse signals out of adjacent two latch circuits LAT. Therefore, by employing the present shift register circuit 11 in the data signal line drive circuit of the image display device, the sampling signals corresponding to the adjacent data signal lines can be prevented from overlapping each other even if the characteristics of the transistors M11 through M18 change and consequently a slight deviation occurs in terms of timing between output signals from adjacent two latch circuits LAT. Therefore, no noise is superimposed on the data signal lines, therefore eliminating the concern about the occurrence of troubles such as blur, ghost and crosstalk on the display image.

[0286] In the above case, as shown in FIG. 4, the pulse width of the above output signal becomes different from the pulse width of the clock signal, however, the change in level occurs similarly in the latch circuit LAT of any stage. Accordingly, the pulse width of the output signal does not change alternately in the latch circuits LAT of the stages. Therefore, in the aforementioned data signal line drive circuit, no deviation occurs in terms of timing when taking in the image data into the data signal lines, and a satisfactory display quality can be obtained.

[0287] Furthermore, as described above, the latch circuit LAT of the present embodiment operates as a level hold circuit to merely keep the specified state regardless of the state of the clock signal ck (/ck) in the inactive state, and therefore, the clock signal ck (/ck) is not necessitated. Therefore, by electrically disconnecting the clock input node CK from the output nodes CKIA and CIKB in the first and second clock signal input control sections 12 and 13 in the case of the inactive state, the load and the consumption of power of the clock signal line can be reduced.

[0288] FIG. 5 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 5.

[0289] This latch circuit differs from the latch circuit of FIG. 2 only in that transistors M19 and M20 that serve as the seventh and eighth n-type transistors of which the gate electrodes receive the inverted clock signal /ck as inputs are provided on the ground potential GND side of the first and second n-type transistors M13 and M14 of FIG. 2. That is, the source electrode and drain electrode of the transistor M19 are connected to the drain electrode of the transistor M13 and the ground potential GND, respectively, while the source electrode and drain electrode of the transistor M20 are connected to the drain electrode of the transistor M14 and the ground potential GND, respectively.

[0290] The latch circuit shown in FIG. 5 operates similarly to the level shifter circuit described with reference to FIG. 2. That is, a level shifter circuit is constituted by the transistors M11, M12, M13 and M15 when the clock signal ck is active, and a latch circuit (two inverter circuits that are connected to each other) is constituted by the transistors M11, M12, M17 and M18 when the inverted clock signal /ck is active. The waveforms of the clock signals (ck and /ck), input pulse signals (IN and /IN) and the output pulse signals (OUT and /OUT) of this latch circuit are the same as the signal waveforms described with reference to FIG. 4 except that the signals ckia and ckib do not exist.

[0291] The above latch circuit operates as a circuit that concurrently has a level shifter function and a latch (hold) function, and some transistors (M11 and M12) of the circuit construction for managing the level shifter function and the latch function are commonly owned. Therefore, the circuit size does not extremely expand as compared with the case where separate circuit constructions are provided.

[0292] As a result, the above latch circuit can output a relatively large drive voltage Vcc by inputting the clock signals ck and /ck or the pulse signals IN and /IN having a small amplitude.

[0293] It is to be herein noted that the serially connected transistors may be replaced with each other in terms of position (this can also hold true in the other embodiments).

[0294] FIG. 6 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 6.

[0295] The latch circuit of FIG. 6 differs from the latch circuit of FIG. 2 only in that n-type transistors M21 and M22 are employed as the ninth and tenth n-type transistors in place of the n-type transistors M16 and M18 of the latch circuit of FIG. 2, the source electrode and drain electrode of the n-type transistor M21 are connected to the drain electrodes of the n-type transistors M15 and M17 and the ground potential GND, respectively, and the source electrode and drain electrode of the n-type transistor M22 are connected to the drain electrode of the n-type transistors M13 and M14 and the ground potential GND, respectively.

[0296] That is, in this latch circuit, the transistors M16 and M18 into which the clock signal (ck) of FIG. 2 is inputted are provided by the one common transistor M21, and the common transistor M22 into which the inverted clock signal (/ck) is inputted is provided on the ground terminal side of the transistors M13 and M14 of FIG. 2. Therefore, by virtue of the common used of the transistor, the latch circuit is allowed to have a small number of elements and a reduced circuit size as compared with the latch circuit described with reference to FIG. 5.

[0297] It is to be noted that the present invention can also hold even if the polarities of all the transistors are made inverse to those of the present embodiment or if the polarities of the power source and the signals are all inverted, when the effects similar to the aforementioned effects can be expected. The same thing can be said for not only the present embodiment but also the other embodiments (provided that, if any logical product circuit and logical sum circuit are employed, then they must be replaced by a logical sum circuit and a logical product circuit, respectively).

[0298] FIG. 7 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 7.

[0299] This latch circuit differs from the latch circuit of FIG. 2 only in that the n-type transistor M21 is employed as the ninth n-type transistor in place of the n type transistors M16 and M18 of the latch circuit of FIG. 2 and the source electrode and drain electrode of the n-type transistor M21 are connected to the drain electrodes of the n-type transistors M15 and M17 and the ground potential GND, respectively.

[0300] That is, in this latch circuit, the transistors M16 and M18 into which the clock signal (ck) is inputted in the latch circuit of FIG. 2 are provided by one transistor M21, and therefore, the number of elements can further be reduced.

[0301] FIG. 8 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 8.

[0302] This latch circuit is constructed of first and second logical product and non-disjunction circuits AND-NOR1 and AND-NOR2. The logical product circuit section of the first logical product and non-disjunction circuit AND-NOR1 receives the clock signal (CK) and the pulse signal (IN) as inputs, while the non-disjunction circuit section of the first logical product and non-disjunction circuit AND-NOR1 receives an output signal of the above logical product circuit section and an output signal B (/OUT) of the second logical product and non-disjunction circuit AND-NOR2 as inputs. The logical product circuit section of the second logical product and non-disjunction circuit AND-NOR2 receives the clock signal (CK) and the pulse signal (/IN) as inputs, while the non-disjunction circuit section of the second logical product and non-disjunction circuit AND-NOR2 receives an output signal of the above logical product circuit section and an output signal A (OUT) of the first logical product and non-disjunction circuit AND-NOR1 as inputs.

[0303] In the above case, the amplitude of one of the input signals (one of IN and CK) is made smaller than the drive voltage Vcc. It is to be noted that the signals (CK and IN or /CK and /IN) necessitate the respective inverted signals, however, they are not shown.

[0304] FIG. 9 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 9 constituting the logical product and non-disjunction circuits AND-NOR1 and AND-NOR2 shown in FIG. 8.

[0305] This latch circuit differs from the latch circuit of FIG. 2 only in that a transistor M23 is employed as the eleventh n-type transistor of which the gate electrode receives the inverted clock signal (/ck) as an input in place of the n-type transistor M14 of the latch circuit of FIG. 2 and a transistor M24 is employed as the twelfth n-type transistor of which the gate electrode receives the inverted signal B(/OUT) of the output signal as an input and the source electrode is also connected to the transistor M23.

[0306] Also, with the above construction, a logical result of the desired amplitude (power source amplitude) can be obtained by inputting clock signals (CK and /CK) having an amplitude smaller than that of the power voltage.

[0307] It is to be noted that the transistors M17 and M23 may be replaced with the transistor M24 in terms of position in FIG. 9 as described earlier.

[0308] FIG. 10 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 10.

[0309] This latch circuit is constructed of first through fourth non-conjunction circuits NAND1, NAND2, NAND3 and NAND4. The first non-conjunction circuit NAND1 receives the clock signal (CK) and the pulse signal (IN) as inputs, while the second non-conjunction circuit NAND2 receives the clock signal (CK) and the inverted pulse signal (/IN) as inputs. The third non-conjunction circuit NAND3 receives an output signal X of the first non-conjunction circuit NAND1 and an output signal (/OUT) of the fourth non-conjunction circuit NAND4 as inputs, while the fourth non-conjunction circuit NAND4 receives an output signal Y of the second non-conjunction circuit NAND2 and an output signal (OUT) of the third non-conjunction circuit NAND3 as inputs.

[0310] Also, in this latch circuit, the amplitude of one (IN or /IN) of the signals inputted to the first and second non-conjunction circuits NAND1 and NAND2 can be made smaller than the drive voltage Vcc. It is to be herein noted that the signals (CK and IN or /CK and /IN) necessitate the respective inverted signals, however, they are not shown.

[0311] FIG. 11 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 11 constituting the first and second non-conjunction circuits NAND1 and NAND2 shown in FIG. 10.

[0312] This latch circuit differs from the latch circuit of FIG. 9 only in that the transistor M13 and the transistor M24 of the latch circuit of FIG. 9 are removed and the transistors M17 and M23 of FIG. 9 are replaced by transistors M25 and M26 that serve as the thirteenth and fourteenth n-type transistors of which the drain electrodes are connected to the ground potential GND.

[0313] Also, with this construction, a logical result of the desired amplitude (power source amplitude) can be obtained by inputting clock signals (CK and /CK) having an amplitude smaller than that of the power voltage.

[0314] FIG. 12 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 12.

[0315] In this latch circuit, the transistors M13, M14, M15 and M17 located on the output terminals OUT and /OUT side of the n-type transistors of FIG. 5 are provided by transistors M13a, M13b, M14a, M14b, M15a, M15b, M17aand M17bthat have a dual-gate structure as illustrated and the transistors M16, M18, M19 and M20 located on the ground potential GND side have a single-gate structure.

[0316] With this arrangement, the reliability of the circuit can be improved while suppressing an increase in input capacity to the minimum.

[0317] FIG. 13 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 13.

[0318] In this latch circuit, the transistors M16, M18, M19 and M20 located on the ground potential GND side of the n-type transistors of FIG. 5 are made to have a channel length of 6 μm and the transistors M13, M14, M15 and M17 located on the output terminals OUT and /OUT side are made to have a long channel length of 8 μm. With this arrangement, the reliability of the circuit can be improved while suppressing an increase in input capacity to the minimum.

[0319] FIG. 14 shows a modification example of the latch circuit described with reference to FIG. 5. This latch circuit differs from the latch circuit of FIG. 5 in that the transistors M13 and M14 located on the output terminals OUT and /OUT side of FIG. 5 are replaced by n-type transistors M27 and M28, the transistors M19 and M20 located on the ground potential GND side of FIG. 5 are replaced by n-type transistors M29 and M30, the series connection of these transistors being inverted, and the series connections of the transistors M15 and M16 and M17 and M18 of FIG. 5 are inverted. It is to be noted that the signals IN and CK and /IN and CK inputted to the gate electrodes of the transistors M15 and M16 and M17 and M18 of FIG. 14 can be inverted. With this inversion, the signals (CK and /CK) having the smaller amplitude are inputted to the transistors M15 and M17 located on the ground potential GND side of FIG. 14, so that the operation becomes stabilized and the operating speed also improves. That is, the construction of FIG. 5 is more preferable to the construction of FIG. 14.

[0320] FIG. 15 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 12.

[0321] This latch circuit is a modification example obtained by incorporating transistors M41 and M42 that serve as the third and fourth p-type transistors into the latch circuit described with reference to FIG. 2. The third p-type transistor M41 has a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the first p-type transistor M11, a drain electrode connected to the source electrode of the first n-type transistor M13 and a gate electrode connected to the gate electrode of the fourth n-type transistor M16 into which the clock signal (CK) is inputted. The fourth p-type transistor M42 has a source electrode connected to the drain electrode of the second p-type transistor M12, a drain electrode connected to the source electrode of the second n-type transistor M14 and a gate electrode connected to the gate electrode of the sixth n-type transistor M18 into which the clock signal (CK) is inputted.

[0322] According to this latch circuit, the third and fourth p-type transistors M41 and M42 of which the gate electrodes receive the clock signal (CK) as the input are additionally provided between the power potential Vcc of the latch circuit and both the output nodes OUT and /OUT of FIG. 2. With this arrangement, in an operating stage during which both the output nodes OUT and /OUT come to have the low level (ground potential), the p-type transistors M41 and M42 operate so as to limit the current from the power potential Vcc side, thereby increasing the operating margin.

[0323] FIG. 16 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 13.

[0324] This latch circuit is a modification example obtained by incorporating through connection transistors M41 and M42 that serve as the third and fourth p-type transistors, similar to those described with reference to FIG. 15, into the latch circuit described with reference to FIG. 5.

[0325] Therefore, according to this latch circuit, the third and fourth p-type transistors M41 and M42 of which the gate electrodes receive the clock signal (CK) as the input are additionally provided between the power potential Vcc of the latch circuit and both the output nodes OUT and /OUT of FIG. 5. With this arrangement, in an operating stage during which both the output nodes OUT and /OUT come to have the low level (ground potential), the p-type transistors M41 and M42 operate so as to limit the current from the power potential Vcc side, thereby increasing the operating margin.

[0326] FIG. 17 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 14.

[0327] This latch circuit is a modification example obtained by incorporating transistors M41, M42, M43 and M44 that serve as the third through sixth p-type transistors into the latch circuit described with reference to FIG. 2. The third and fourth p-type transistors M41 and M42 are connected between the first and second p-type transistors M11 and M12 and the first and second n-type transistors M13 and M14 similar to the description with reference to FIG. 15. On the other hand, the fifth p-type transistor M43 and the sixth p-type transistor M44 are connected in parallel with the third p-type transistor M41 and the fourth p-type transistor M42, respectively. The input pulse signal (IN) and the inverted signal (/IN) of the input pulse signal are inputted to the gate electrode of the fifth p-type transistor M43 and the gate electrode of the sixth p-type transistor M44, respectively.

[0328] In this latch circuit, between the power potential Vcc and both the output nodes OUT and /OUT of the latch circuit of FIG. 2 are additionally provided the third and fifth p-type transistors M41 and M43 which are connected in parallel with each other and the gate electrodes of which receive the clock signal (CK) and the input pulse signal (IN), respectively, as inputs, as well as the fourth and sixth p-type transistors M42 and M44 which are connected in parallel with each other and the gate electrodes of which receive the clock signal (CK) and the inverted input pulse signal (/IN), respectively as inputs. With this arrangement, in the operating stage during which both the output nodes OUT and /OUT come to have the low level (ground potential), the p-type transistors M41, M42, M43 and M44 operate so as to limit the current from the power potential Vcc side, thereby further increasing the operating margin.

[0329] FIG. 18 shows an example of the latch circuit mentioned in claim 15.

[0330] This latch circuit is a modification example obtained by incorporating through connection the transistors M41 through M44 that serve as the third through sixth p-type transistors, similar to those described with reference to FIG. 17, into the latch circuit described with reference to FIG. 5.

[0331] Therefore, in this latch circuit, between the power potential Vcc and both the output nodes OUT and /OUT of the latch circuit of FIG. 5 are additionally provided the third and fifth p-type transistors M41 and M43 which are connected in parallel with each other and the gate electrodes of which receive the clock signal (CK) and the input pulse signal (IN), respectively, as inputs, as well as the fourth and sixth p-type transistors M42 and M44 which are connected in parallel with each other and the gate electrodes of which receive the clock signal (CK) and the inverted input pulse signal (/IN), respectively, as inputs. With this arrangement, in the operating stage during which both the output nodes OUT and /OUT come to have the low level (ground potential), the p-type transistors M41, M42, M43 and M44 operate so as to limit the current from the power potential Vcc side, thereby further increasing the operating margin.

[0332] The first and second clock signal input control sections 12 and 13, which are described with reference to FIG. 3, will be described more concretely below. It is to be noted that the first clock signal input control section 12 and the second clock signal input control section 13 have the same circuit construction, and therefore, the following description will be provided for the first clock signal input control section 12 as a representative.

[0333] FIG. 19 shows an example of the first clock signal input control section 12 of the shift register mentioned in claims 24 through 26.

[0334] The first clock signal input control section 12 is constructed roughly of two n-type transistors TG and TD that serve as a switching means and a potential fixing means, respectively. Then, the drain electrode of the transistor TG that serves as the fifteenth n-type transistor constituting the switching means is connected to the gate of the n-type transistor M16 that constitutes the latch circuit LAT, thereby forming the aforementioned output node CKIA. Then, the clock input node CK is connected to the source electrode of the transistor TG, while the first control signal (input pulse signal in) is inputted to the gate electrode. The source electrode of the transistor TD that serves as the seventeenth n-type transistor constituting the potential fixing means is connected to the output node CKIA, while the ground potential GND is connected to the drain electrode. Further, the gate electrode is connected to the power potential Vcc (=16 V) . It is to be noted that the second clock signal input control section 13 is similarly provided with a sixteenth n-type transistor that serves as a switching means and an eighteenth n-type transistor that serves as a potential fixing means.

[0335] In the first clock signal input control section 12 having the above construction, if the logic level of the first control signal (input pulse signal in) becomes “H”, then the n-type transistor TG is turned on to connect the clock input node CK to the output node CKIA, so that the clock signal ck is inputted to the n-type transistor M16. The input pulse signal in is also inputted to the gate of the n-type transistor M15. Consequently, as described above, the n-type transistors M15 and M16 that are connected in series with each other are turned on in the case where the input pulse signal in and the output pulse signal out are “H” and the clock signal ck (/ck) is active, so that the latch circuit LAT operates as a level shifter circuit.

[0336] By contrast, if the logic level of the first control signal in is “L”, then the n-type transistor TG is turned off to put the output node CKIA into a floating state. Therefore, the gate electrode is connected to the power potential Vcc, while the drain electrode is connected to the ground potential GND, so that the potential of the output node CKIA is fixed by using the ON-state resistance of the n-type transistor TD that is consistently in the ON-state as a pull-down resistance. Consequently, as described above, the n-type transistor M16 is turned off regardless of the state of the clock signal ck (/ck), and the latch circuit LAT operates as a level hold circuit.

[0337] That is, in this first clock signal input control section 12, the n-type transistor TG constitutes the switching means, while the n-type transistor TD, power potential Vcc and ground potential GND constitute the potential fixing means.

[0338] FIG. 20 shows an example of the first clock signal input control section 12 of the shift register mentioned in claim 27. Similar to the case of FIG. 19, between the gate electrode of the n-type transistor M16 and the clock input node CK is formed the transistor TG of which the gate electrode receives the first control signal (input pulse signal in) as an input, thereby forming the output node CKIA. Further, the source electrode of the transistor TD that serves as the nineteenth n-type transistor constituting the potential fixing means and is used as a pull-down resistance of the output node CKIA is connected to this output node CKIA, the ground potential GND is connected to the drain electrode of this n-type transistor TD and the gate electrode is connected to its own source electrode. Therefore, the pull-down voltage becomes the threshold voltage of the n-type transistor TD. That is, the first clock signal input control section 12ashown in FIG. 20 has the advantage that the wiring becomes simple as compared with the construction of the first clock signal input control section 12 shown in FIG. 19.

[0339] It is to be noted that the second clock signal input control section 13 is similarly provided with the twentieth n-type transistor that serves as a potential fixing means.

[0340] FIG. 21 shows an example of the first clock signal input control section 12 of the shift register circuit mentioned in claim 29. Similar to the cases of FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, between the gate electrode of the n-type transistor M16 and the clock input node CK is formed the n-type transistor TG of which the gate electrode receives the first control signal (input pulse signal in) as an input, thereby forming the output node CKIA. Further, the source electrode of the transistor TD that serves as the twenty-first n-type transistor constituting the potential fixing means and is used as a pull-down resistance of the output node CKIA is connected to this output node CKIA, and the ground potential GND is connected to the drain electrode of this n-type transistor TD. To the gate electrode of this n-type transistor TD is inputted the inverted signal of the first control signal (the inverted signal of the second control signal in the case of the second clock signal input control section 13) inputted to the gate electrode of the n-type transistor TG. Therefore, the n-type transistor TD is turned off when the n-type transistor TG is on, thereby enabling the prevention of the through current from the gate electrode of the n-type transistor M16 to the ground potential GND occurring when the clock input node CK and the output node CKIA are electrically connected to each other.

[0341] It is to be noted that the second clock signal input control section 13 is similarly provided with the twenty-second n-type transistor that serves as a potential fixing means.

[0342] FIG. 22 shows an example of the first clock signal input control section 12 of the shift register circuit mentioned in claim 28. Similar to the cases of FIG. 19 through FIG. 21, between the gate electrode of the n-type transistor M16 and the clock input node CK is provided the n-type transistor TG of which the gate electrode receives the input of the first control signal (input pulse signal in), thereby forming the output node CKIA. Further, one end of a resistor R that serves as a first resistor to be used as a pull-down resistance of the output node CKIA is connected to this output node CKIA, and the ground potential GND is connected to the other end. If the elemental area of the resistor is simply compared with the elemental area of the transistor, which have an identical resistance, then the resistor has the greater area. However, the resistor has the advantage that it can reduce its substantial occupation area by multi-layer wiring (for forming the resistor below the wiring) taking advantage of its simple structure.

[0343] It is to be noted that the second clock signal input control section 13 is similarly provided with a resistor that serves as a second resistor.

[0344] As described above, in the present embodiment, the individual latch circuits LAT that constitute the shift register circuit 11 operate in synchronization with only either one of the clock signal ck and the inverted clock signal /ck. Therefore, the load of the clock signal line can be reduced by half as compared with the case where both the clock signal ck and the inverted clock signal /ck are used as in the latch circuits SR shown in FIG. 43, thereby allowing the consumption of power to be reduced.

[0345] In the individual latch circuits LAT that constitute the shift register circuit 11, the n-type transistors M16 and M18 are provided between the two p-type transistors M11 and M12 and the two n-type transistors M15 and M17 (corresponding to the n-type transistors M3 and M4 connected to the ground potential GND of the level shifter circuit shown in FIG. 48). Then, the output signals ckia and ckib of the first and second clock signal input control sections 12 and 13 are inputted to the gate electrodes of the n-type transistors M16 and M18. Further, the n-type transistors M13 and M14 are provided between each of the output nodes OUT and /OUT and the ground potential GND. Then, the output nodes OUT and /OUT are connected to the gate electrodes of the n-type transistors M13 and M14.

[0346] Therefore, if the input pulse signal in to the first clock signal input control section 12 and the output pulse signal out to the second clock signal input control section 13 are “H” (i.e., the latch circuit LAT is active) and the clock signal ck is active, then the latch circuit LAT functions as a level shifter similar to the level shifter circuit LS shown in FIG. 48. In any other case, the circuit can function as a level hold circuit.

[0347] As a result, the shift register circuit 11 can be operated with the clock signal having amplitude smaller than the drive voltage (Vcc), so that the consumption of power of the external circuit for generating the clock signal can be reduced. Further, the pulse width of the output signal out becomes smaller than the pulse width of the output pulse signal /out. Therefore, by using the output signal out as a drive signal, a time interval can be provided between the output signals from adjacent two latch circuits LAT. If the shift register is utilized in the data signal line drive circuit of an image display device, then no noise is superimposed on the image signal. When the latch circuit LAT is inactive, by electrically disconnecting the clock input node CK from the output nodes CKIA and CKIB by the first and second clock signal input control sections 12 and 13, the load and the consumption of power of the clock signal line can be reduced.

[0348] FIG. 23 shows an example of the latch circuit LAT that constitutes the shift register circuit mentioned in claim 23. In FIG. 23, the p-type transistors M11 and M12, the n-type transistors M13 through M18 and the first and second clock signal input control sections 15 and 16 have the same constructions and functions as those of the p-type transistors M11 and M12, the n-type transistors M13 through M18 and the first and second clock signal input control sections 12 and 13 of FIG. 3. It is to be noted that the concrete circuit constructions of the first and second clock signal input control sections 15 and 16 are as shown in FIG. 19 through FIG. 22.

[0349] In the present embodiment, the input terminal of a first inverter circuit INV is connected to the drain of the p-type transistor M11 (the output node /OUT of the latch circuit LAT shown in FIG. 3). Likewise, a second inverter circuit INV is connected to the drain of the p-type transistor M12 (the output node OUT of the latch circuit LAT shown in FIG. 3). Then, the output terminal of the first inverter circuit INV is used as an output node OUT, while the output terminal of the second inverter circuit INV is used as an output node /OUT. In general, the level shifter circuit has a driving power smaller than those of the other logical operation circuits. Therefore, by incorporating a circuit having a buffering operation (amplifying operation) such as the inverter circuit INV, the signal propagation to the subsequent stage can be ensured to allow the shift register operation to be stably executed.

[0350] FIGS. 24A through 24G show the waveforms of the clock signal ck (/ck) inputted to the clock input node CK, the pulse signals in and /in inputted to the input nodes IN and /IN, the output signal ckia outputted from the output node CKIA, the output signal ckib outputted from the output node CKIB and the pulse signals out and /out outputted from the output nodes OUT and /OUT. In comparison with the waveforms shown in FIG. 4, the phases of the output signals out and /out are inverted due to the incorporation of the inverter circuit INV for the output nodes OUT and /OUT shown in FIG. 3, and consequently, the leading edge of the output signal out occurs earlier than the trailing edge of the output signal /out.

[0351] Therefore, similar to the case of the latch circuit LAT shown in FIG. 3, even if a slight deviation occurs in terms of timing between the output signals /out from adjacent latch circuits LAT when the shift register circuit 11 formed of the present latch circuit LAT is used for the data signal line drive circuit and the output signal /out is utilized, similar to the case of the latch circuit LAT shown in FIG. 3, the sampling signals corresponding to adjacent data signal lines can be prevented from overlapping.

[0352] It is also acceptable to remove the first and second clock signal input control sections 15 and 16 of the latch circuit of FIG. 23 and input the clock signal (CK) to the gate electrodes of the transistors M16 and M18, thereby providing the first and second inverters INV for the output terminals OUT and /OUT of the latch circuit described with reference to FIG. 17. Also, with this construction, the signal propagation to the subsequent stage can be ensured by the buffering operation of the inverters INV, thereby allowing the shift register operation to be stably executed.

[0353] FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing an example of the shift register circuit mentioned in claim 20. In this shift register circuit 21, the output nodes and input nodes of adjacent latch circuits LAT are connected via analog switches ASW. That is, a start signal (pulse signal) st is inputted to the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the first stage via an analog switch ASW1 that is controlled to be turned on and off by an external control signal lr. On the other hand, the output node is connected to the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the second stage via the analog switch ASW1. Next, the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the second stage is connected to the output node of the latch circuit LAT of the third stage via an analog switch ASW2 that is controlled to be turned on and off by an external control signal /lr besides the output node of the latch circuit LAT of the first stage. On the other hand, the output node is connected to the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the first stage via the analog switch ASW2 and connected to the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the third stage via the analog switch ASW1. Next, the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the third stage is connected to the output node of the latch circuit LAT of the fourth stage via the analog switch ASW2 besides the output node of the latch circuit LAT of the second stage. On the other hand, the output node is connected to the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the fourth stage via the analog switch ASW1 besides the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the second stage. Then, the start signal st is inputted via the analog switch ASW2 to the input node of the latch circuit LAT of the fourth stage, or the final stage besides the output signal from the latch circuit LAT of the third stage.

[0354] The shift register circuit 21 having the above construction can switch the scanning direction as follows. That is, when the control signal lr becomes active, the analog switch ASW1 that is controlled to be turned on and off by the control signal lr is turned on, while the analog switch ASW2 that is controlled to be turned on and off by the control signal /lr is turned off. Consequently, the start signal st is inputted to the latch circuit LAT of the first stage, and the output pulse signals from the latch circuits LAT of the preceding stages are inputted to the succeeding stages. That is, the shift register circuit 21 executes scanning from the front latch circuit LAT to the last latch circuit LAT. By contrast, when the control signal lr becomes inactive, the analog switch ASW1 is turned off, while the analog switch ASW2 is turned on. Consequently, the start signal st is inputted to the latch circuit LAT of the fourth stage (final stage), and the output pulse signals from the latch circuits LAT of the succeeding stages are inputted to the preceding stages. That is, the shift register circuit 21 executes scanning from the last latch circuit LAT to the front latch circuit LAT.

[0355] FIG. 26 shows a circuit diagram of the latch circuit LAT and the analog switch ASW, which constitute the shift register circuit 21 of FIG. 25. The analog switch ASW1 is constructed by connecting the source electrode of an n-type transistor M31 of which the gate electrode receives the input of the control signal lr to the source electrode of a p-type transistor M32 of which the gate electrode receives the input of the control signal /lr and connecting their drain electrodes to each other. Then, the output node /OUT or the output node OUT of the latch circuit LAT is connected to the source electrode side, and the drain side thereof is made to serve as output nodes /OUT1 and OUT1. The analog switch ASW2 is constructed by connecting the source electrode of an n-type transistor M33 of which the gate electrode receives the input of the control signal /lr to the source electrode of a p-type transistor M34 of which the gate electrode receives the input of the control signal lr and connecting their drain electrodes to each other. Then, the output node /OUT or the output node OUT of the latch circuit LAT is connected to the source electrode side, and the drain side thereof is made to serve as output nodes /OUT2 and OUT2. It is to be noted that the latch circuit LAT in FIG. 26 is constructed of the latch circuit section shown in FIG. 3 and the clock signal input control section shown in FIG. 19. However, the latch circuit may, of course, be constructed on the basis of the latch circuit section of FIG. 23 and the clock signal input control section of FIG. 20 to FIG. 22.

[0356] FIG. 27 is an example of the shift register mentioned in claim 21, showing a modification example of the shift register circuit described with reference to FIG. 25. In this shift register circuit, buffer circuits BUF are additionally provided between the outputs of the latch circuits LAT and the analog switches ASW1 and ASW2 that serve as the first and second transfer gates toward the latch circuits of the preceding stages and the succeeding stages.

[0357] This shift register circuit can also switch the scanning direction of the shift register circuit similarly to the shift register circuit of FIG. 25. Further, even in the case where the driving power (signal propagation capability) of the latch circuit LAT is reduced by way of the analog switches ASW, a great driving power can be obtained by virtue of the incorporation of the buffer circuits BUF, thereby allowing the shift register circuit to be stably operated.

[0358] It is to be noted that each of the latch circuits that constitute the above shift register circuit can be constructed by providing the inverter circuit INV described with reference to FIG. 23 for the output terminals toward the analog switches ASW1 and ASW2 located on both sides of the latch circuit LAT described with reference to FIG. 26.

[0359] FIG. 28 is a circuit diagram of a data signal line drive circuit SD that employs the shift register circuit 11 shown in FIG. 2 or the shift register circuit 21 shown in FIG. 25 (in this case, the scanning is executed in the forward direction when the control signal lr becomes active). The basic construction of the present data signal line drive circuit SD is roughly the same as that of the conventional data signal line drive circuit SD shown in FIG. 39. That is, the signal of a sequence of output signals In of adjacent latch circuits LS_SR that constitute a shift register circuit 25 is amplified by a buffer circuit constructed of a plurality of inverter circuits, and an inverted signal is generated as the occasion demands. A sampling signal s and its inverted signal /s are outputted to a sampling circuit (analog switch) AS. Then, the sampling circuit AS executes switching on the basis of the sampling signals s and /s and supplies video data dat from the video signal line DAT to the data signal line SL. Clock signals cks and /cks to the latch circuits LS_SR, output signals n1, /n1 through n3, /n3 of the latch circuits LS_SR and sampling signals s1 and s2 in the above case are shown in FIGS. 29A through 29J.

[0360] In this case, each latch circuit LS_SR that constitutes the shift register circuit 25 is a latch circuit that has the same construction and the same level shifter function as those of the latch circuit LAT shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 23. Therefore, the output signals n1, /n1 through n3, /n3 having the amplitude of 16 V can be outputted on the basis of the clock signals cks and /cks having the amplitude of 5 V. Therefore, when the data signal line drive circuit SD constructed of the shift register circuit 25 having the latch circuit LS_SR as described above is employed, a high driving voltage can be obtained on the basis of the clock signals cks and /cks having the small amplitude, so that the increase in consumption of power due to the clock signals cks and /cks in the case where the aforementioned drive circuit integrated type liquid crystal display device is constructed of a polysilicon thin-film transistor having a high threshold voltage absolute value can be prevented.

[0361] In this case, the latch circuit LS_SR is assumed to be the latch circuit LAT having the circuit construction shown in FIG. 23. Then, the sampling signals s and /s for taking in the video data dat are generated on the basis of the low-active output signal In out of the output signals n and /n from the latch circuit LS_SR of each stage of the shift register circuit 25. In the above case, the output signals out and /out of the latch circuit LAT having the circuit construction shown in FIG. 23 are arranged so that the pulse width of the output signal /out is narrower than the pulse width of the output signal out as shown in FIGS. 24A through 24G. Therefore, with regard to the sampling signals s and /s generated by the present data signal line drive circuit SD, the adjacent sampling signals s1 and s2 have no overlap in terms of time as shown in FIGS. 29A through 29J. That is, it is impossible to write the video data into any other data signal line SL immediately before the completion of the writing of video data into a certain data signal line SL, and this prevents the superimposition of noises on the data signal line SL, thereby allowing a satisfactory image display to be obtained.

[0362] In the above description, each latch circuit LS_SR that constitutes the shift register circuit 25 is the latch circuit LAT of the circuit construction shown in FIG. 23 and the sampling signals s and /s are generated on the basis of the low-active output signal In. However, the latch circuits LS_SR may be constructed of the latch circuit LAT of the circuit construction shown in FIG. 3. In the above case, the adjacent sampling signals s1 and s2 can be made to have no overlap in terms of time by generating the sampling signals s and /s on the basis of the high-active output signal n.

[0363] Further, as described above, the latch circuit LS_SR (i.e., the latch circuit LAT shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 23) that constitutes the shift register circuit 25 has the first and second clock signal input control sections identical to the first and second clock signal input control sections 12 and 13. Then, since the circuit operates merely as a level hold circuit in the inactive state, the clock signals cks and /cks are unnecessary. Therefore, in the inactive state, the load and the consumption of power of the clock signal line can be reduced by stopping the inputs of the clock signals cks and /cks by the first and second clock signal input control sections.

[0364] It is also acceptable to eliminate the inputs of the inverted signals /cks and /sps out of the clock signals and the start signals inputted to each latch circuits LS_SR of FIG. 28.

[0365] FIG. 30 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the construction of the data signal line drive circuit SD that employs the shift register circuit 11 or the shift register circuit 21. In the present data signal line drive circuit SD, a normal level shifter circuit LS having the circuit construction shown in FIG. 48 or FIG. 49 is provided for a start signal line SPS to the latch circuit LS_SR of the first stage of a shift register circuit 26. Then, by the level shifter circuit LS, start signals sps and /sps having the same amplitude of 5 V as those of the clock signals cks and /cks are boosted to have an amplitude of 16 V and supplied to the latch circuit LS_SR of the first stage.

[0366] As described above, by making the start signal sps have the amplitude of 5 V, all the digital input signals to the present data signal line drive circuit SD are allowed to have the amplitude of 5 V. That is, according to the present embodiment, the output level of the external signal generating circuit can be uniformed to 5 V, thereby allowing a low consumption of power and simplification of the system to be achieved.

[0367] FIG. 31 is a circuit diagram of the scanning signal line drive circuit GD that employs the shift register circuit 11 shown in FIG. 2 or the shift register circuit 21 shown in FIG. 25 (in this case, the scanning is executed in the forward direction when the control signal lr becomes active). The basic construction of the present scanning signal line drive circuit GD has a buffer circuit obtained by removing the pulse width control signal line GPS and the NOR circuit from the buffer circuit of the conventional scanning signal line drive circuit GD shown in FIG. 41. That is, the signal of a sequence of the output signals /n of adjacent latch circuits LS_SR that constitute a shift register circuit 27 is obtained by the NAND circuit, amplified by the buffer circuit constructed of a plurality of inverter circuits and supplied to the scanning signal line GL. The clock signals ckg and /ckg to the latch circuits LS_SR, output signals n1, /n1 through n3, /n3 of the latch circuits LS_SR and scanning signals g11 and g12 to the scanning signal line GL in the above case are shown in FIGS. 32A through 32J.

[0368] In this case, each latch circuit LS_SR that constitutes the shift register circuit 27 is a latch circuit that has a level shifter function having the same construction as that of the latch circuit LAT shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 23. Therefore, similar to the case of the data signal line drive circuit SD shown in FIG. 28 or FIG. 30, a high drive voltage can be obtained on the basis of clock signals ckg and /ckg having a low amplitude, so that the increase in consumption of power due to the clock signals ckg and /ckg can be prevented in the case where the drive circuit integrated type liquid crystal display device is constructed of a polysilicon thin-film transistor.

[0369] The latch circuit LS_SR is the latch circuit LAT having the construction shown in FIG. 23, and the scanning signal gl for writing the video data dat into pixels is obtained on the basis of the low-active output signal /n from the latch circuit LS_SR of each stage. Therefore, similar to the case of the data signal line drive circuit SD shown in FIG. 28 or FIG. 30, adjacent scanning signals g11 and g12 have no overlap as shown in FIGS. 32A through 32J. That is, it is impossible to start writing the video data into any other pixel immediately before the completion of the writing of video data into a certain pixel, and this prevents the superimposition of noises on the image signal, thereby allowing a satisfactory image display to be obtained. As described above, according to the present scanning signal line drive circuit GD, the occurrence of overlap of adjacent scanning signals gl can be eliminated merely by generating the scanning signal gl on the basis of the low-active output signal /n from the latch circuit LS_SR. Accordingly, there is no need for a circuit for supplying the pulse width control signal gps for controlling the pulse width of the scanning signal gl in contrast to the case of the scanning signal line drive circuit GD shown in FIG. 41.

[0370] Also, in the case of the present scanning signal line drive circuit GD, adjacent scanning signals g11 and g12 can be made to have no overlap by constituting the latch circuit LS_SR by the latch circuit LAT having the construction shown in FIG. 3 and generating the scanning signal gl on the basis of the high-active output signal n.

[0371] Furthermore, similar to the case of the data signal line drive circuit SD shown in FIG. 28 or FIG. 30, in the inactive state, the load and the consumption of power of the clock signal line can be reduced by stopping the input of the clock signals ckg and /ckg by the first and second clock signal input control sections that constitute the latch circuit LS_SR.

[0372] FIG. 33 is a circuit diagram showing another example of the construction of the scanning signal line drive circuit GD that employs the shift register circuit 11 or the shift register circuit 21. In the present scanning signal line drive circuit GD, a normal level shifter circuit LS1 having the construction shown in FIG. 48 or FIG. 49 is provided for the start signal lines SPG and /SPG to the latch circuit LS_SR of the first stage of a shift register circuit 28. Further, a pulse width control signal line 29 similar to the case of FIG. 41 is provided and a level shifter circuit LS2 as described above is connected to this pulse width control signal line 29. Then, start signals spg and /spg having the same amplitude of 5 V as those of the clock signals ckg and /ckg are boosted to have an amplitude of 16 V by the level shifter circuit LS1 and supplied to the latch circuit LS_SR of the first stage. Further, pulse width control signals gps and /gps having the same amplitude of 5 V as those of the clock signals ckg and /ckg are boosted to have an amplitude of 16 V by the level shifter circuit LS2 and supplied to NOR circuits 30 through 33 of the stages.

[0373] Therefore, by making the start signals spg and /spg and the pulse width control signals gps and /gps have the amplitude of 5 V, all the digital input signals to the scanning signal line drive circuit GD are allowed to have the amplitude of 5 V. That is, according to the present embodiment, the output level of the external signal generating circuit can be uniformed to 5 V, thereby allowing a low consumption of power and simplification of the system to be achieved.

[0374] Further, the pulse width of the scanning signal gl can be more appropriately set by generating the scanning signal gl taking the overlap of the sequence of the output signals /n of the adjacent latch circuits LS_SR with the pulse width control signals gps and /gps.

[0375] The present embodiment has been described on the basis of the example in which the control signal is generated by means of the output signal having the narrower pulse width out of the output signals out and /out from the latch circuits LS_SR that constitute the data signal line drive circuit SD and the scanning signal line drive circuit GD. However, according to the present invention, it is also acceptable to use the output signal having the wider pulse width. In the above case, the time overlap occurring in the control signal based on the output signals from the adjacent latch circuits LS_SR as described above cannot be positively eliminated, however, an effect for reducing the amplitude of the clock signal can be obtained.

[0376] As described above, by using at least one of the data signal line drive circuit SD and the scanning signal line drive circuit GD of the present embodiment as the data signal line drive circuit SD or the scanning signal line drive circuit GD of a liquid crystal display device as shown in FIG. 37, an image display device that concurrently has a low consumption of power and a high display quality can be constructed.

[0377] Particularly in the liquid crystal display device circuit construction shown in FIG. 37, the data signal line drive circuit SD and the scanning signal line drive circuit GD are arranged broadly throughout the range of a length approximately equal to the length of the side of the screen (i.e., the display region), and therefore, clock signals cks and ckg and so on have very long wiring lengths. Therefore, the wiring load capacity of the clock wiring is very large, and the reduction in consumption of power through the reduction in amplitude of each signal is very effective.

[0378] Among the clock signals and the start signals inputted to the latch circuits LS_SR of FIG. 31, the inverted signals /cks and /sps can also be eliminated. Among the pulse width control signals inputted to the NOR circuits 30 through 33 of FIG. 33, the inverted signal /gps can also be eliminated.

[0379] FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the construction of a liquid crystal display device according to an example of the image display device mentioned in claim 30. This liquid crystal display device 41 is provided with the data signal line drive circuit SD shown in FIG. 28 or FIG. 30 and the scanning signal line drive circuit GD shown in FIG. 31 or FIG. 33. The data signal line drive circuit SD has the same circuit construction as that of the data signal line drive circuit SD shown in FIG. 28 or FIG. 30. The scanning signal line drive circuit GD has the same circuit construction as that of the scanning signal line drive circuit GD shown in FIG. 31 or FIG. 33. The pixel array ARY has the same construction as that of the pixel array ARY of the liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 37.

[0380] In the present liquid crystal display device 41, the pixels PIX, the data signal line drive circuit SD and the scanning signal line drive circuit GD are formed on an identical substrate SUB and exhibit the so-called driver monolithic structure. Then, the device is driven according to the video data dat, clock signal cks, start signal sps, clock signal ckg, start signal spg, pulse width control signal gps from an external control circuit CTL and various driving power sources from an external power circuit VGEN.

[0381] Also, in such a circuit construction, the wiring load capacity is very large similar to the case of the liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 37. By making both the signal line drive circuits SD and GD have the above construction and making the amplitude of the above input signals to both the signal line drive circuits SD and GD smaller than those of the driving voltages of both the signal line drive circuits SD and GD, a great effect of reducing the consumption of power can be obtained.

[0382] Further, by (monolithically) forming the data signal line drive circuit SD and the scanning signal line drive circuit GD on the same substrate SUB as that of the pixel array ARY, the manufacturing cost and mounting cost of the signal line drive circuits SD and GD and so on can be reduced as compared with the case where they are formed and mounted on different substrates, and an effect for improving the reliability can also be obtained.

[0383] A transparent substrate such as a quartz substrate or a glass substrate is employed as the substrate SUB in the monolithic type liquid crystal display device as shown in FIG. 34. Therefore, a polysilicon thin-film transistor that has a very high driving power characteristic as compared with that of the amorphous silicon thin film transistor employed in the conventional active matrix type liquid crystal display device is employed as an active element. FIG. 35 shows an example of the structure of the polysilicon thin-film transistor. There are shown reference numerals of 49 for an insulating substrate of a glass substrate or the like, 50 for a silicon oxide film, 54 for a polysilicon film, 59afor a source region and 59bfor a drain region. There are further shown reference numerals of 55 for a silicon oxide film that serves as a gate insulating film, 56 for a gate electrode, 63 for a silicon oxide film that serves as an interlayer insulating film and 65 for a metal wiring. FIGS. 36A through 36K are sectional views showing an example of a procedure for fabricating the polysilicon thin-film transistor. The fabricating processes for forming a polysilicon thin-film transistor at a temperature of not higher than 600° C. will be simply described below.

[0384] First, an amorphous silicon thin film 52 is deposited on a glass substrate 51 as shown in FIG. 36B. Then, an excimer laser 53 is applied as shown in FIG. 36C, thereby forming a polysilicon thin film 54. Next, the polysilicon thin film 54 is patterned into an active region shape as shown in FIG. 36D, and thereafter a gate insulating film 55 made of silicon dioxide is formed on the upper surface as shown in FIG. 36E. Next, a gate electrode 56 of a thin-film transistor is formed of aluminum or the like on the gate insulating film 55 as shown in FIG. 36F.

[0385] Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 36G, the region of the p-type thin-film transistor is covered with a resist 57 and an impurity of “phosphorus 58” is injected into the source region and the drain region of an n-type thin-film transistor using the gate electrode 56 as an exposure mask. Thus, n⁺ regions 59aand 59bare formed on both sides of the gate electrode 56 of the polysilicon thin film 54. Likewise, as shown in FIG. 36H, the region of the n-type thin-film transistor is covered with a resist 60 and an impurity of “boron 61” is injected into the source region and the drain region of a p-type thin-film transistor using the gate electrode 56 as an exposure mask. Thus, p⁺ regions 62aand 62bare formed on both sides of the gate electrode 56 of the polysilicon thin film 54. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 36I, an interlayer insulating film 63 made of silicon dioxide or silicon nitride is deposited. Then, contact holes 64 that reach the n⁺ regions 59aand 59band the p⁺ regions 62aand 62b(i.e., the source and drain regions) are opened through the interlayer insulating film 63 as shown in FIG. 36J, and thereafter, a metal wiring 65 of aluminum or the like is formed through the contact holes 64 as shown in FIG. 36K.

[0386] Since the process maximum temperature is 600° C. in the gate insulating film 55 forming stage in the above fabricating procedure, a highly thermostable glass such as the 1737 glass of U.S. Corning Corp. can be used. Furthermore, since the fabrication can be achieved at a temperature not higher than 600° C., an inexpensive large-area glass substrate can be used, thereby allowing the cost reduction and the increased area of the liquid crystal display device to be achieved.

[0387] Further, when forming the above liquid crystal display device, a transparent electrode (in the case of the transmission type liquid crystal display device) or a reflection electrode (in the case of the reflection type liquid crystal display device) is to be subsequently further formed via another interlayer insulating film.

[0388] Although the above description is based on the complementary type polysilicon thin-film transistor taken as an example, the transistor may not be the complementary type in the least. Furthermore, although the above description is based on the forward stagger (top gate) in which the polysilicon thin film 54 located on the insulating substrate 49 (51) is made to serve as the active regions 59aand 59btaken as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reverse stagger structure or another structure may be adopted.

[0389] By using the aforementioned polysilicon thin-film transistor as an active element, a scanning signal line drive circuit GD and a data signal line drive circuit SD having a practical driving power can be constructed through roughly identical fabricating processes on the same substrate SUB as that of the pixel array ARY shown in FIG. 34.

[0390] Furthermore, the aforementioned polysilicon thin-film transistor has a driving power that is one or two orders of magnitude smaller than the monocrystal silicon transistor (MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistor). Therefore, when executing a high-speed operation as in the case of data signal line drive circuit SD, the gate width is required to be large in order to gain the driving power. Then, the gate capacity is increased in accordance with the arrangement, and this may incur an increase is consumption of power because the clock signal line itself or the like, which is connected to the gates of several hundreds of transistors, operates as a heavy load. However, according to the present embodiment, the shift registers 11 and 21 that use the clock signals ck and /ck of a small amplitude as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 25 are used for the data signal line drive circuit SD. Therefore, the load of the clock signal lines CLK and /CLK can be reduced to allow the consumption of power to be reduced.

[0391] Furthermore, in the case where the level shifter circuit LS as shown in FIG. 30 or FIG. 33 is constructed of the aforementioned polysilicon thin-film transistors, there occurs an increased variation in duty ratio of the pulse due to the small driving power, as compared with the case where the level shifter circuit LS is constructed of monocrystal transistors. However, according to the present embodiment, since the shift registers 11 and 21 as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 10 are employed. With this arrangement, the pulse width of the sampling signal can be uniformed to prevent the occurrence of overlap of adjacent sampling signals in terms of time. Therefore, the deterioration in display quality can be suppressed.

[0392] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to them and is able to be similarly applied to another construction (image display devices or the like other than the liquid crystal display device) such as a combination of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0393] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.