An electrode arrangement for an array of electrically-controllable
elements comprises a series of generally parallel electrodes (16) each
for extending along a respective line of the electrically-controllable
elements, and a series of driver lines (20(1-6)) for receiving driving
signals. Each electrode is connected to a plurality of the driver lines
each via a respective impedance (26).
Each electrode is so connected to at least three of the driver lines.
Additionally or alternatively, the driver lines are so connected to the
electrodes such that the driver lines cannot be split into a pair of
arbitrary groups of the driver lines for which (a) each group has
generally the same number of driver lines and (b) each electrode is so
connected to at least one of the driver lines in one of the groups and to
at least one of the driver lines in the other of the groups. This enables
the ratio of the number of electrodes to the number of driver lines to be
increased.
The impedances in combination with a decoder (24) provide a decoding
system which is arranged to perform a plural-stage process in determining
which of the driver lines to stimulate in response to each electrode
address value supplied to the decoder. This enables the network
configuration of the impedances to be machine generated, and also enables
the decoder to calculate on the fly which driver lines to stimulate in
response to each address value. Furthermore, different resolutions may be
provided to enable groups of the electrodes to be addressed
simultaneously.
The invention is applicable, for example, to liquid crystal displays,
arrays of memory elements and arrays of sensors such as light-sensors.