Patents by Inventor Munehiro Azami

Munehiro Azami has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20050219098
    Abstract: A D/A conversion circuit with a small area is provided. In the D/A conversion circuit, according to a digital signal transmitted from address lines of an address decoder, one of four gradation voltage lines is selected. A circuit including two N-channel TFTs is connected in series to a circuit including two P-channel TFT, and a circuit including the circuits connected in series to each other is connected in parallel to each of the gradation voltage lines. Further, an arrangement of the circuit including the two N-channel TFTs and the circuit including the two P-channel TFTs is reversed for every gradation voltage line. By this, the crossings of wiring lines in the D/A conversion circuit becomes small and the area can be made small.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 13, 2005
    Publication date: October 6, 2005
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Koyama, Mitsuaki Osame, Yukio Tanaka, Munehiro Azami, Naoko Yano, Shou Nagao
  • Publication number: 20050206598
    Abstract: To provide a display device capable of displaying a good quality image. According to the present invention, there is provided a display device comprising: a display panel composed of a pixel portion in which a plurality of TFTs are arranged in matrix, a source driver, and a gate driver; an image signal processing circuit for processing an image signal input from an external; and a control circuit for controlling the display panel and the image signal processing circuit, characterized in that the image signal processing circuit corrects the image signal on the basis of a correction table and feeds the display panel with the corrected image signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2005
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama, Masaaki Hiroki, Munehiro Azami, Mitsuaki Osame, Yutaka Shionoiri, Shou Nagao
  • Patent number: 6928136
    Abstract: A circuit is provided which is constituted by TFTs of one conductivity type, and which is capable of outputting signals of a normal amplitude. When an input clock signal CK1 becomes a high level, each of TFTs (101, 103) is turned on to settle at a low level the potential at a signal output section (Out). A pulse is then input to a signal input section (In) and becomes high level. The gate potential of TFT (102) is increased to (VDD?V thN) and the gate is floated. TFT (102) is thus turned on. Then CK1 becomes low level and each of TFTs (101, 103) is turned off. Simultaneously, CK3 becomes high level and the potential at the signal output section is increased. Simultaneously, the potential at the gate of TFT (102) is increased to a level equal to or higher than (VDD+V thN) by the function of capacitor (104), so that the high level appearing at the signal output section (Out) becomes equal to VDD.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2005
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shou Nagao, Munehiro Azami, Yoshifumi Tanada
  • Patent number: 6911926
    Abstract: A D/A conversion circuit with a small area is provided. In the D/A conversion circuit, according to a digital signal transmitted from address lines of an address decoder, one of four gradation voltage lines is selected. A circuit including two N-channel TFTs is connected in series to a circuit including two P-channel TFT, and a circuit including the circuits connected in series to each other is connected in parallel to each of the gradation voltage lines. Further, an arrangement of the circuit including the two N-channel TFTs and the circuit including the two P-channel TFTs is reversed for every gradation voltage line. By this, the crossings of wiring lines in the D/A conversion circuit becomes small and the area can be made small.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2005
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Koyama, Mitsuaki Osame, Yukio Tanaka, Munehiro Azami, Naoko Yano, Shou Nagao
  • Patent number: 6911358
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device having steps of forming an amorphous semiconductor on a substrate having an insulating surface; patterning the amorphous semiconductor to form plural first island-like semiconductors; irradiating a linearly condensed laser beam on the plural first island-like semiconductors while relatively scanning the substrate, thus crystallizing the plural first island-like semiconductors; patterning the plural first island-like semiconductors that have been crystallized to form plural second island-like semiconductors; forming plural transistors using the plural second island-like semiconductors; and forming a unit circuit using a predetermined number of the transistors, where the second island-like semiconductors used for the predetermined number of the transistors are formed from the first island-like semiconductors that are different from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2005
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Munehiro Azami, Chiho Kokubo, Aiko Shiga, Atsuo Isobe, Hiroshi Shibata, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 6909411
    Abstract: To provide a display device capable of displaying a good quality image. According to the present invention, there is provided a display device comprising: a display panel composed of a pixel portion in which a plurality of TFTs are arranged in matrix, a source driver, and a gate driver; an image signal processing circuit for processing an image signal input from an external; and a control circuit for controlling the display panel and the image signal processing circuit, characterized in that the image signal processing circuit corrects the image signal on the basis of a correction table and feeds the display panel with the corrected image signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama, Masaaki Hiroki, Munehiro Azami, Mitsuaki Osame, Yutaka Shionoiri, Shou Nagao
  • Publication number: 20050092984
    Abstract: A light emitting device is provided which can prevent a change in gate voltage due to leakage or other causes and at the same time can prevent the aperture ratio from lowering. A capacitor storage is formed from a connection wiring line, an insulating film, and a capacitance wiring line. The connection wiring line is formed over a gate electrode and an active layer of a TFT of a pixel, and is connected to the active layer. The insulating film is formed on the connection wiring line. The capacitance wiring line is formed on the insulating film. This structure enables the capacitor storage to overlap the TFT, thereby increasing the capacity of the capacitor storage while keeping the aperture ratio from lowering. Accordingly, a change in gate voltage due to leakage or other causes can be avoided to prevent a change in luminance of an OLED and flickering of screen in analog driving.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2004
    Publication date: May 5, 2005
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama, Tatsuya Arao, Munehiro Azami
  • Publication number: 20050007156
    Abstract: A sense amplifier according to the present invention for detecting a potential difference of signals input to a first input terminal and a second input terminal, includes a first means for applying voltages corresponding to threshold voltages of first and second transistors to gate-source voltages of the first and second transistors, and a second means for transferring signals input to the first and second input terminals to gates of the first and second transistors. In this case, a threshold variation of the first and second transistors is corrected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 27, 2004
    Publication date: January 13, 2005
    Inventors: Yutaka Shionoiri, Kiyoshi Kato, Munehiro Azami
  • Publication number: 20040246210
    Abstract: A novel driving method is provided in which source line inverting drive or dot inverting drive is performed for a case of driving a plurality of source lines by one D/A converter circuit in a source signal line driver circuit of an active matrix image display drive that corresponds to digital image signal input. In a first driving method of the present invention, two systems of grey-scale electric power supply lines are supplied to a source signal line driver circuit in order to obtain output having differing polarities from a D/A converter circuit, switches for connecting to the two systems of grey-scale electric power supply lines are prepared in each D/A converter circuit, the grey-scale electric power supply lines connected to each D/A converter circuit are switched in accordance with a control signal input to the switches, and source line inverting drive or dot inverting drive are performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2004
    Publication date: December 9, 2004
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Munehiro Azami
  • Patent number: 6825496
    Abstract: A light emitting device is provided which can prevent a change in gate voltage due to leakage or other causes and at the same time can prevent the aperture ratio from lowering. A capacitor storage is formed from a connection wiring line, an insulating film, and a capacitance wiring line. The connection wiring line is formed over a gate electrode and an active layer of a TFT of a pixel, and is connected to the active layer. The insulating film is formed on the connection wiring line. The capacitance wiring line is formed on the insulating film. This structure enables the capacitor storage to overlap the TFT, thereby increasing the capacity of the capacitor storage while keeping the aperture ratio from lowering. Accordingly, a change in gate voltage due to leakage or other causes can be avoided to prevent a change in luminance of an OLED and flickering of screen in analog driving.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2004
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Jun Koyama, Tatsuya Arao, Munehiro Azami
  • Publication number: 20040217889
    Abstract: In a serial-to-parallel conversion (SPC) circuit for digital data which converts the digital data serially inputted, into parallel digital data, and which outputs the parallel digital data; clock signals at frequencies which are, at the highest, ½ of the frequency of the input digital data are employed for operating the SPC circuit, whereby the SPC circuit is improved in power dissipation, stability and reliability.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2004
    Publication date: November 4, 2004
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Munehiro Azami, Mitsuaki Osame, Yutaka Shionoiri, Shou Nagao
  • Publication number: 20040201410
    Abstract: A level shifter that accommodates lower driving voltage of a driver circuit and has a sufficient capability of converting the amplitude of an input signal even when the voltage amplitude of the input signal is low is provided. A level shifter utilizing a current mirror circuit 150 and a differential circuit 160 is used in a portion for converting the voltage amplitude of the signal. Since the potential difference of a signal input through transistors 105 and 106 to the differential circuit 120 is amplified and outputted, the voltage amplitude can be normally converted without influence of the threshold of a transistor even when the voltage amplitude of the input signal is low.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2004
    Publication date: October 14, 2004
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Koyama, Munehiro Azami, Yutaka Shionoiri, Tomoaki Atsumi
  • Publication number: 20040178978
    Abstract: A D/A conversion circuit with a small area is provided. In the D/A conversion circuit, according to a digital signal transmitted from address lines of an address decoder, one of four gradation voltage lines is selected. A circuit including two N-channel TFTs is connected in series to a circuit including two P-channel TFT, and a circuit including the circuits connected in series to each other is connected in parallel to each of the gradation voltage lines. Further, an arrangement of the circuit including the two N-channel TFTs and the circuit including the two P-channel TFTs is reversed for every gradation voltage line. By this, the crossings of wiring lines in the D/A conversion circuit becomes small and the area can be made small.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2004
    Publication date: September 16, 2004
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Koyama, Mitsuaki Osame, Yukio Tanaka, Munehiro Azami, Naoko Yano, Shou Nagao
  • Publication number: 20040174448
    Abstract: A gray-scale power supply line supplied to a source signal line driving circuit is made only one system, and each of D/A conversion circuits drives source signal lines in which three source signal lines corresponding to RGB are made a unit and the number of which is a multiple of 3. The periods in which respective source line selecting circuits select source signal lines corresponding to respective colors of the RGB are made synchronous with each other, and the power supply voltage applied to the gray-scale power supply line is changed in one horizontal writing period, so that power supply voltages corresponding to R, G and B are respectively applied to the gray-scale power supply line in periods while the source signal lines of R. G and B are respectively selected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2004
    Publication date: September 9, 2004
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Munehiro Azami
  • Publication number: 20040174189
    Abstract: A circuit is provided which is constituted by TFTs of one conductivity type, and which is capable of outputting signals of a normal amplitude. When an input clock signal CK1 becomes a high level, each of TFTs (101, 103) is turned on to settle at a low level the potential at a signal output section (Out). A pulse is then input to a signal input section (In) and becomes high level. The gate potential of TFT (102) is increased to (VDD−V thN) and the gate is floated. TFT (102) is thus turned on. Then CK1 becomes low level and each of TFTs (101, 103) is turned off. Simultaneously, CK3 becomes high level and the potential at the signal output section is increased. Simultaneously, the potential at the gate of TFT (102) is increased to a level equal to or higher than (VDD+V thN) by the function of capacitor (104), so that the high level appearing at the signal output section (Out) becomes equal to VDD.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2003
    Publication date: September 9, 2004
    Applicant: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co. Ltd., a Japan corporation
    Inventors: Shou Nagao, Munehiro Azami, Yoshifumi Tanada
  • Patent number: 6768348
    Abstract: A sense amplifier according to the present invention for detecting a potential difference of signals input to a first input terminal and a second input terminal, includes a first means for applying voltages corresponding to threshold voltages of first and second transistors to gate-source voltages of the first and second transistors, and a second means for transferring signals input to the first and second input terminals to gates of the first and second transistors. In this case, a threshold variation of the first and second transistors is corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2004
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yutaka Shionoiri, Kiyoshi Kato, Munehiro Azami
  • Patent number: 6750835
    Abstract: A novel driving method is provided in which source line inverting drive or dot inverting drive is performed for a case of driving a plurality of source lines by one D/A converter circuit in a source signal line driver circuit of an active matrix image display drive that corresponds to digital image signal input. In a first driving method of the present invention, two systems of grey-scale electric power supply lines are supplied to a source signal line driver circuit in order to obtain output having differing polarities from a D/A converter circuit, switches for connecting to the two systems of grey-scale electric power supply lines are prepared in each D/A converter circuit, the grey-scale electric power supply lines connected to each D/A converter circuit are switched in accordance with a control signal input to the switches, and source line inverting drive or dot inverting drive are performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2004
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Munehiro Azami
  • Patent number: 6750792
    Abstract: In a serial-to-parallel conversion (SPC) circuit for digital data which converts the digital data serially inputted, into parallel digital data, and which outputs the parallel digital data; clock signals at frequencies which are, at the highest, ½ of the frequency of the input digital data are employed for operating the SPC circuit, whereby the SPC circuit is improved in power dissipation, stability and reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2004
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Munehiro Azami, Mitsuaki Osame, Yutaka Shionoiri, Shou Nagao
  • Patent number: 6738005
    Abstract: A D/A conversion circuit with a small area is provided. In the D/A conversion circuit, according to a digital signal transmitted from address lines of an address decoder, one of four gradation voltage lines is selected. A circuit including two N-channel TFTs is connected in series to a circuit including two P-channel TFT, and a circuit including the circuits connected in series to each other is connected in parallel to each of the gradation voltage lines. Further, an arrangement of the circuit including the two N-channel TFTs and the circuit including the two P-channel TFTs is reversed for every gradation voltage line. By this, the crossings of wiring lines in the D/A conversion circuit becomes small and the area can be made small.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2004
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Koyama, Mitsuaki Osame, Yukio Tanaka, Munehiro Azami, Naoko Yano, Shou Nagao
  • Patent number: 6731273
    Abstract: A level shifter that accommodates lower driving voltage of a driver circuit and has a sufficient capability of converting the amplitude of an input signal even when the voltage amplitude of the input signal is low is provided. A level shifter utilizing a current mirror circuit 150 and a differential circuit 160 is used in a portion for converting the voltage amplitude of the signal. Since the potential difference of a signal input through transistors 105 and 106 to the differential circuit 120 is amplified and outputted, the voltage amplitude can be normally converted without influence of the threshold of a transistor even when the voltage amplitude of the input signal is low.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Koyama, Munehiro Azami, Yutaka Shionoiri, Tomoaki Atsumi