High-Performance Backplanes are Getting a Technology Refresh

Abstract

THIS ISSUE WILL LAUNCH AN ARTICLE SERIES ON BACKPLANE technologies, beginning with a focus close to home: our team's work on multimodal transistor (MMT) technology. This first installment also sets the stage with an overview of the diverse landscape of thin-film transistors (TFTs) used in displays. Future issues will explore high-performance oxide semiconductors, the history and promise of organic TFTs, recent developments in low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) as a standalone or in conjunction with oxides (LTPO), a summary of issues arising from the case studies of TFT developments, and a startup spotlight that includes a recap of lessons learned.

Having spent two decades developing TFTs and working on low-cost, high-value analog complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) applications prior, it is clear that while every technology has intrinsic limits, those boundaries often are shaped as much by mindset as by materials. The magic often lies not in radical overhauls, but in holistic, application-driven co-design: clever engineering that plays to a technology's strengths and edges it beyond perceived constraints.

Go to any conference in the field, and you inevitably will see presentations with tables weighing the pros and cons of various backplane or TFT technologies. While useful, these comparisons can inadvertently box us in, reinforcing assumptions that stifle or delay innovation. In reality, breakthroughs often emerge from unconventional thinking that tweaks and reimagines what is practical at the boundaries through process-device-circuit co-optimization.

This series focuses on that mindset. It challenges what we take for granted and how context-aware innovation can unlock surprising performance.

I invite you to engage with the authors; bring your perspectives on current developments, hopes for the future of our field, and lessons from history. Let's explore how the community can push these technologies forward with scientific creativity and engineering flair.