Sony patents stacked chip design to shrink liquid crystal displays
Sony describes an electro-optical device that uses liquid crystals to control light. To save space, the company stacks two semiconductor layers on top of each other, placing the liquid crystal element and some control electronics in the bottom layer and the remaining electronics in the top layer.
In the filing’s own words
To provide an electro-optical device capable of suppressing an increase in size. An electro-optical device according to the present disclosure includes a liquid crystal element, a plurality of electronic components, a first semiconductor layer, and a second semiconductor layer. The liquid crystal element is driven on the basis of a data signal indicating a degree of light modulation. The plurality of electronic components is related to the driving of the liquid crystal element based on the data signal. A liquid crystal element and a subset of the plurality of electronic components are disposed in the first semiconductor layer. The second semiconductor layer is stacked on the first semiconductor layer, and remaining components of the plurality of electronic components are disposed.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. An electro-optical device comprising: a liquid crystal element driven on a basis of a data signal indicating a degree of light modulation; a plurality of electronic components related to the driving of the liquid crystal element based on the data signal; a first semiconductor layer in which the liquid crystal element and a subset of the plurality of electronic components are disposed; and a second semiconductor layer that is stacked o the first semiconductor layer and in which remaining components of the plurality of electronic components are disposed.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION)
- Official title
- ELECTRO-OPTICAL DEVICE AND SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR
- Publication number
- US20260329139A1
- Application number
- 19486399
- Filed
- May 8, 2024
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 15
Classified under
G02F 1/1368 Physics & computingG09G 3/3648 Physics & computingG09G 2300/0426 Physics & computingMore from Sony in Chips & hardware
- Sony patents light sensor that adjusts how it counts incoming photons Sep 1, 2026
- Sony patents camera sensor with two pixel types for better motion detection Sep 1, 2026
- Sony patents game graphics that adjust quality based on hardware heat Sep 8, 2026
- Sony patents camera sensor design that stacks chips to shrink pixels Sep 8, 2026
- Sony patents chip design that measures internal temperature from outside Sep 8, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.