Client Invoice Tips: 10 Ways to Invoice Clients Better

Hello Reader! Welcome to The Engineering Projects. At the present time, we'll discuss about the client invoice and the tips and tricks to manage your client invoice service. We all know Payment matters are always a bit of an issue when it comes to ending up a deal. One way or another we all work to get a further reward and mostly it is about money. Usually, the system of client invoices is pretty much tuned. However, a certain need for better optimization from time to time pops its head up. To avoid extra stress you might want to look through the information below and get some inspiration on how to improve your invoice arrangements.

Comprehend the importance of an invoice

Invoices are meant to keep track of any business operation having place. This is your legal document that provides you with the  guarantees for the service being paid. At the same time, it backs you up when some financial issue arises from whatever side of the deal. Invoices are valuable when it comes to accounting matters. As an entrepreneur, you must get accustomed to operating them masterfully. 

Get professional design

With all the graphic design apps on the market to find a decent invoice maker will pose no problem at all. Turn to various templates that will arrange all the information required in a fine-looking, professional document. Place your signature, or special brand-stamp, that is recognizable for the client. With the templates chosen, customize other brand qualities - logos, color palettes, fonts etc. for an even more presentable look. Bigger companies have their invoices generated automatically, and they also care for the design.  It might seem as not the most essential part, since not the colors, but money on time matters, however even the design of your invoice is a part of your brand presentation. 

Mind client's requirements

?ompanies are usually overwhelmed with the number of invoices they get to process daily. There are chances that they might ask for a certain format of the invoice you send them. Therefore you might have to adjust your beautiful design with their requirements. This will demonstrate you being considerate of their concerns. Also, it ensures your invoice to be noticed and funded without delays and awkward reminders about your rewards. 

Define the person in charge

When discussing the payment matters make sure to talk to the right person or the right accounting department. You might want to avoid your invoice sent somewhere and get lost in the huddle of gazillion letters sent daily. Double-check right from the start of the negotiation of your services.  The way you are going to get informed about this matter may already tell you how responsibly the company, or the client treats this matter and what words are used specifically. Evasive tone and clear avoidance of the topic will help you think better about whether to get contracted for the job at all.  

Include payment deadlines

Make sure that your invoice contains exact information about the terms when you expect to get your funds. While discussing financial matters before the deal you may already announce your number expectations and how they should be delivered. However, it is never redundant to outline it in your invoice again. With the busy life everyone leads to keep all things in mind is not always a possible matter. The negotiated sum and the time when it is expected are the main figures that your invoice is developed around.

Create an invoice filing organization

It is highly recommended for better optimization and more order to create folders with various invoices sent to your clients. Arrange them by dates, names of the clients, terms of getting paid, those that are unpaid. Having a fine structure developed you will always be able to trace how things are going for you money-wise. This may be deprived of all the romantic flavor since you as the creator should not waste your energy on anything other than art and rewards are just pleasant bonuses...Now, when you have come back to earth, please take care of the filing system and your invoices being in ship-shape order. 

It is OK  to remind about unpaid invoice

When terms are outlined in a crystal clear manner, however, the customer’s side has not respected the commitments it is totally acceptable to send a follow-up email. Hectic business world intends to miss out on some aspects ( not cool, yet inevitable), your reminder will be appreciated and even an apology letter may loom upon the horizon. Other clients feel sad to part with their money, especially when the total amount is quite impressive. Such representatives need an extra push to deliver their end of the deal. Every job done should be rewarded, no excuses here. 

Ask for deposit 

Sometimes, in the matter of precautions, it is recommended that you ask for the deposit. Mostly the payment is delivered when the work is done and meets all the requirements. In order to avoid experiences when such highly-professional work goes unpaid, you may ask for some money paid beforehand. Your clients contacted you to get your services after they have checked through your profiles and your happy clients' testimonials. They know they can trust you in your expertise and follow the deadlines. You know that you can trust them when they freely agree to your deposit terms. Then there is a big chance to get the rest of the payment with no delays and unnecessary reminders.

Thank your clients

In comparison with all the critical matters, invoice-wise thanking might pale a bit. To get gratitude is always a pleasure. Running through hectic days, when everything that you just see are numbers, requests, and reminders, to get a thank you note for a change might make someone's day. Who knows, maybe after you will be placed in the category “Priority payment”.

Take it easy

It does not mean -  let it loose and see what the outcome might be. No, you keep on monitoring the financial side of the work you do. However, do not let yourself  get consumed utterly with accounting, since there is some other job that has to be performed, requiring your full devotion. There is always a way to divide and conquer.

To sum up

Let’s go over again. In order to get paid relatively quickly when invoicing the clients, you have to be ready to commit to creating a professional invoice with crystal-clear information about your services and payment expectations. Be precise, and indeed considerate in the discussions about funding matters. Create a fine filing system in order to be on the safe side always. Do not be afraid to ask for what it's worth, becoming a victim of those who are not used to paying for the services they got. When you are a rookie and gain experience it is quite normal practice to do some job for free, but being an experienced specialist with high-quality services requires money to be paid and exactly when you ask for that.

Top 5 Reasons a Survivalist Should Be an Amateur Radio Operator

Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. In today's tutorial, I am going to share Top 5 Reasons a Survivalist Should Be an Amateur Radio Operator. With 2021 setting in, are you well prepared to survive if the world goes down? We live in uncertain times, and the pandemic has taught us that what we plan today might not be applicable tomorrow. Simply put, like survivalists, we should be mentally and physically tough and all geared-up for emergencies, disruptions, and the breakdown of society. If you are currently living the survival mode, also known as the prepper lifestyle, you are heavily self-reliant. We expect you to have your backpack ready with all the right emergency tools and gadgets, such as a survival knife and a ham radio set. Read on to learn more about the top five reasons that you, as a survivalist, should also be an amateur radio operator.

Social Networking

Currently, there are more than 700,000 license holders of amateur radios within the United States, and as ham radio sales increase rapidly during the current pandemic, you might be shocked to know that before social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., ham radio users were originally hailed as social media geeks. Ham radio operators have amazing technology incorporated within their radio sets, such as voice boosting satellites and Morse code messages. Ham radio operators consider themselves the ultimate survivalists as they have been using a social media platform that is more than a century old. When survivalists use am radios over the air, they keep the conversation respectful. By bouncing signals off the ionosphere, survivalists can reach around the globe with their ham radios. Also, when shit hits the fan, ham radio might be the only platform to communicate.

Replete With Emergency Related Options

A survivalist should be an amateur operator because it enables them to make an emergency autopatch and then activates the autopatch system. With the ham radio, a survivalist can learn how to report an incident quickly and clearly without assuming that other people might be doing it already for you. Since ham radios are replete with emergency-related options, you have to turn up the radio's output power to maximum and state "Break Emergency" at your first opportunity. Survivalists can also learn how to make a distress call on a certain frequency where ham radio operators are more likely to be listening.

Listen in on Emergency Responder Frequencies

Some ham radios can receive many frequencies outside of the ham bands, which include the frequency of emergency responders, such as the police department and rescue services. Some of the ham radios can listen in on emergency frequencies and transmit on those frequencies. Nonetheless, only one circumstance is perfectly legal for a ham radio operator to transmit on emergency responder frequencies, irrespective of whether they are licensed or not. The exceptional case refers to an immediate emergency when no other communication method is available, and you attempt to get assistance via proper ham radio.

Cost-Effective

If you are preparing for the post-apocalypse era, you should be concerned about effective communication while staying within a budget. Ham radios are known as the best-budget radio in the communication industry. It is a cost-effective and powerful gadget for wireless communication. This means that you won't have to break the bank to get an effective communication tool for the darkest hours on earth.

You Can Practice Your Ham Radio Skills

Ham radio hail from the earliest radio technology. If you have ever been remotely interested in radio technology and looking for the perfect survival gear, Ham radio can be your go-to gadget. Amateur radio operators often practice their radio skills and electronics while communicating through high-frequency ham bands. By combining radio with computers and other technologies, data and texts can be sent via radio-frequency.

4 Things Every Modern Office Needs

Hey Readers! I welcome you on the board. I hope you are doing Great. are you establishing a new office? or you want creative ideas about your Office? or you just want to get the concepts about the Modern office requirement? then I can help you. Office designs continue to change with modern trends, and there are many aspects of office design that can even have an impact on the productivity of the people who work there.  It is more important than ever that the office environment is a welcoming one to ensure that every staff member will be able to give their best in terms of collaboration and work, and there are a number of things that every modern office needs - everything from spatial design to using LED strip lights. A varied and comfortable workspace Young professionals tend to enjoy a modern open floor plan in the office. Collaboration and communication are important and a modern office needs to promote this. However, there can be too much of a good thing and it is still important that employees have a place in which they are able to concentrate by themselves or within smaller groups. A modern office should provide space for these more intimate activities, or the segment of the workforce that may need quiet in order to get things done could be alienated.  A modern office should provide the space to allow these activities to be undertaken simultaneously, allowing employees to move between activities as required without distracting others.  Appearance and lighting In addition to the way in which a modern office is laid out, how it looks and how it is lit is also of vast importance to employee comfort and productivity.  It is a scientific fact that our mood is dictated by our environment, and colors play a big role in this. The modern office should be painted in a color that has a calming and relaxing effect, and wall accessories and throw pillows can also be made use of to create a positive atmosphere.  Lighting is also of key importance to offices, and the trend in modern offices is to make use of LED strip lights over the more traditional fluorescent lighting. In addition to being more environmentally friendly and cost-effective, LED strip lights have also been shown to be more beneficial to the health of office workers, improving mood and vitality, where mental issues such as stress can be caused by poor lighting.  Access to technology  The modern office needs to be equipped to deal with all aspects of modern technology. Modern offices try to allow employees to work wherever they like, which means they need to be able to gain access to their data wherever they want. This means that a strong Wi-Fi signal needs to be available at every point in the office, with lots of Ethernet ports throughout the environment as well as wireless charging solutions, recessed power outlets in tables and desks, Bluetooth headsets, cordless phones and cords in floors, trays and walls.  Socialization and health A common area or lounge is a good way to help with office socialization. The area needs to be relaxing and away from the main office to allow for conversations without distracting others. Some modern workplaces even provide a gym or wellness room where employees can keep fit, and the pantry should be stocked with healthy snacks.  Workers spend a good deal of their lives in the office, making it essential for the modern office to ensure their health and happiness. A healthy and happy employee is a productive employee. 

Moving into your New Build: Tips and Tricks

Hello Learners! We welcome you on the Board. We hope you are doing Great. Today we'll talk about the Tips that will be useful and functional Tips that will work best for you if you are thinking to shift in the new build. If statistics are to be believed, the UK is something of a new-build heaven. Every year an estimated 247,000 more houses are built than demolished. On the face of things, new-build properties seem the dream. Remember the days of worrying about a lack of damp-proof course in older properties. Or, what about that chimney stack that can't be moved, but acts as a total eyesore in your front room. While more traditional problems might have been erased, new ones have come in their place. Today's guide is all about showcasing how you can extract the most from your new-build, and not join the army of movers that are riddled with problems with these properties each year.

Make snagging your top priority

Our first piece of advice is to hold fire with moving your belongings in (if you’re really struggling, look at a self storage company). The reason? Snagging. This is a term that you’ll know plenty about by the time your move is complete. Put simply, it involves identifying all of the minor problems that affect a new-build property. The list can be well and truly endless; it might be a door that doesn’t shut properly, or a socket that doesn’t work. It’s not uncommon to uncover hundreds of these small problems. With furniture in place, it’s difficult to carry out. Start on an empty room and see how you go. If you’re allowed (some developers won’t permit it), source a snagging company before completing.

Bonus tip: some problems ARE expected

Want some 'good' news? Some problems are expected. For example, let's talk about condensation. As your house is still drying out, you will see signs of it and in the short-term at least, it's not a major problem. You may also spot a salty substance on bricks. Again, this forms part of the drying out process, and needn't be taken seriously in the early days.

Be cautious with the heating

On the subject of drying out, we would urge you to exercise caution when it comes to turning the heating on. Your move might be in the middle of winter, but if you ramp up the thermostat too much you’ll find that cracking soon starts to occur because of shrinkage. Again, this is one of those unfortunate issues that occur with new builds.

You won't have everything included

Finally, this is where you need to double-check every piece of documentation that your developers have sent over. Contrary to popular belief, your new property probably isn’t going to resemble the beautiful showroom you were given the grand tour of. Instead, there will be all sorts that is missing. This could range from blinds and curtains, right the way to house numbers, door bells and everything in-between. There will be some items that are included, but are probably not up to your specification either. In other words, prepare for magnolia walls and cream carpets. If you can establish what is included in advance, you can even negotiate for higher-spec items before the basics are installed.

Web 101, Hosting, and domain names, how they work together?

Hello! welcome to The Engineering Projects. Are you a business owner? A content creator? A college student looking for a place of free expression? Then do not worry! All you need to take your ambitions to the next level is a new website to establish a substantial internet presence from the first day of your new adventure. Having a website is an excellent way to increase community engagement and have a platform that exists solely for your work to be visible to the general audience. However, if you’ve been thinking and going around the internet to look for a procedure, there’s a strong chance that you’re feeling overwhelmed right now. Complicated words like web hosting and choosing a domain name scare away a newcomer. Hence, we’re here to help you figure out the process of making your website and clear all your confusions surrounding the matter. What do you need for a website? It sounds like a simple question, and we’ll try to give you a simple answer to it. To have a website up and running, you essentially need two things to begin. They are:
  • Domain Name.
  • Web hosting service.
We will go into great detail about these terms because these two terms will pop up at every step of the way, and you will need a comprehensive understanding of what they mean. For now, you should know that a domain name and a web hosting service is crucial to your beginning. While both are two different things and completely unrelated, they cannot function without one another.

Understanding a domain name

A domain name is the name of your website. An excellent way to understand what it means is to think of it as the address where people can access your website. Technically, it is used for finding and identifying IP addresses on the internet. IP addresses are convenient for computers but hard for us to remember for a long time. Because of this, domain names were created and are now used to identify entities on the internet.   You have to pick a domain name for your website and then get it registered against your credentials to reserve it for your use. Usually, buying a domain name allows you to use it for a year, but you can always pay in advance and look up offers and discounts to lock up your domain name for years to come. However, buying a domain name does not mean getting an entire website. You still have to get web hosting and get a website designed from scratch by a reliable web design agency. Keep some things in mind while buying a domain name. Think long and hard to pick the right domain name because it will be visible everywhere, and your regular users will remember it. In case you discover that your preferred domain name is unavailable, you can always use a temporary one till your preferred option becomes available.

What is web hosting?

A web host is essentially a company that has many devices connected to the internet. When you upload your web pages on their systems, everyone across the world will be able to connect, view, and use them. You will need to sign up for an account with a web host to give your website a home for its files and functioning. Take this analogy for a simpler understanding. If a domain name is similar to getting a business name in the ordinary world, getting a web hosting account is equivalent to renting an office or shop premises for your business operations and inventory. Selecting a web hosting company is much more complicated than choosing a domain name. Choosing the right web hosting service is a lengthy task that requires a lot of research. People choose different web hosts based on their particular needs, and you need to identify your requirements to select a service that works for you.

How do you pick the right web hosting service?

Before we begin, you should know that there are two types of web hosting services - free and commercial. Free web hosting services allow you to host your website on the internet without any charge, whereas you have to pay a subscription charge if you avail of commercial web hosting solutions. There are advantages and disadvantages to both solutions. Let’s try to go through the most critical differences so that you can decide which hosting solution fits your needs. A free web hosting solution usually imposes advertising on your website. Companies hire advertising agencies to cover the costs of providing your site the free web-space and associated services. It also allows them to earn revenue through the traffic on your website and profit over time. Some services place a banner on your pages, while others display a window that pops up every time a page on your site loads. Some solutions even pose a pop-up on your website randomly. Ensure that you are comfortable with their mode of advertising beforehand. Also, free hosting solutions only give you a limited amount of cloud space, and the storage limits put a cap on your website’s contents. You may not be able to have many images and videos on your website in a limited cloud space. A commercial web hosting service will allow your users to have an ad-free experience on your website. Moreover, in some hosting services, you can also have the option to put ads on your website and directly earn revenue through ad traffic. Most blog writers make a living through ad traffic on their websites. It will also allow you to select the amount of storage space you want for your website. As you keep updating your website, it is bound to get heavier and see the entry of additional web pages. In this case, you can always select higher cloud storage with the company. Moreover, be on the lookout for their bandwidth/data transfer. It correlates how to the speed of your website’s opening and the number of bytes transferred from your site to visitors when they browse your site. Carefully go through the bandwidth terms and conditions of your provider to see any hidden costs attached.

Emerging Opportunities In Stocks Trading With Innovative Ideas

Hi Friends! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post today, I’ll detail the emerging opportunities in stocks trading with innovative ideas. 2020 has unleashed the entire world on the battlefield of uncertainty. You cannot assure how companies and firms will evolve in the coming days. With this pandemic, influencing both personal and professional life, our future is not certain. This uncertainty has affected stock trading and the factors influencing it.

Emerging Opportunities In Stocks Trading With Innovative Ideas

Trading is generally considered a risk profession but this is not the case as per innovation in technology. Now, you can easily trade to make profits even if you have little to no money. There are many online services available like Automatic Fortunes, which help users in emerging opportunities in the stock trading market. Participating in a potential growth stock can help you grow financially With trading, you can generate passive income or take it as a full-time job or part-time opportunity, either way, you have a massive chance to make a handsome amount of money.

1. Innovative Technology

Needless to say, advancement in technology has produced plenty of low barriers-to-entry trading opportunities. You can do trading with no money in some cases. While in other cases, little money is needed to put you on the steering wheel of trading. Anyone with patience and commitment can make a killing in this profession. Innovation is introducing a new idea to bring ease and comfort to people’s life. New internet technology has turned the entire world into a global village, interlinking the global market and giving you the ability to make money right from the comfort of your home. Even if you have a full-time job or have a family to support, you can join stock trading to make a living.

2. Trading Opportunities

Normally stock prices are based on technical indicators that mainly influence the large price movements. This is true, such combinations occur once in a while, but when they do, they bring scores of opportunities for everyone. They are mainly termed as trading opportunities. The opportunities in stock trading generally come with a low downside while the upside is high. Every opportunity in stock trading is measured with a score ranging from 0 to 100. The higher score is linked to better trading opportunities and as a result ensuring more profit with the trade. Still, a higher score doesn’t ALWAYS guarantee more profit because some factors like volume balance, trend direction, support, and resistance also influence the technical aspect of stock. It is, therefore, preferred to see the entire picture of stock trading and, more importantly, audit the basic information before trading. Know that risk factor has nothing to do with the score calculation. Two different stocks that contain the same score may face entirely different risks. Some people assume stock trading is a walk in the park; this is not the case in reality. The success of this business is entirely dependent on you. It involves so many paths, where anybody can join the business. You need to well prepare yourself in advance for all the ups and downs of the stock trading.

A. Trading from Home

This seems like the best and easiest way to earn a living because you have flexible hours to work but there is a catch. The minimum equity required for trading to work as a pattern day trader is 25000$. And you need to maintain this amount all the time. If your account fails to retain this minimum, your account will be put on hold until you hit the minimum once again.

B. Proprietary Trading Firms

These firms have become famous among the masses due to their attractive and low-free strategies. If working from home is not your cup of tea, you might want to join the trading floor where you can typically work as a contractor. You’ll never get a daily wage in firms like these, just the commission you make bringing clients to the firm for trading. There are plenty of benefits to working in a trading company including exposure to trading ideas, meeting with successful traders, free training, performance monitoring, and easy access to capital.

C. Other Options

When you don’t have enough money to invest, it’s wise to get a hold of other trading options that demand less capital. The currency markets and foreign exchange are the best alternatives that require less capital where you can open an account in just $100, helping you control a large amount of money with this capital. These markets work 24/7, giving you the flexibility to collaborate from anywhere anytime. These markets are mainly introduced for the traders who don’t have time to work in regular working hours.

Conclusion

Once you’ve got to know which trading option suits you the best, stick with it. If trading from home resonates with you, make sure the markets you trade with will lie within your interests and capital. And come up with a comprehensive trading plan to get a hold of all complexities in your trading business. This is now your business. You need to apply everything in this business you would otherwise apply in regular business. Work with online brokers and explore other options. If you have a laptop and internet connection, you can make a living trading. Last not least, don’t hesitate to get help from the mentors. They will help you stay on track and how to deal with the challenges you might face in trading. That’s all for today. Hope you find this article helpful. You’re most welcome to share your feedback in the section below. Thank you for reading the article.

5 Ways to Make Your Automation Testing More Effective

Hey pals! Welcome to the Engineering Project. We hope you are have a good day. First, we need to understand what automation is, and what its objectives are. Automation is simply the integration of technology to process or run its functions with minimal human intervention or assistance. Its objectives are to improve efficiency, speed and precision of hard or long tasks that are usually performed by humans.  For example, accounting and producing and delivery of products, which were formerly and majorly done by humans. But, in the world of modernity and technology, automation was invented to minimize costs and risks while maximizing profits.  Overall, an open line of communication and good management skills are both critical during the implementation or automation testing services There are significant issues that always need to be addressed, a fragile interrelationship in a sense. For example, testing to check if the system's configurations and processes are working is one of the most overlooked details of IT projects. The sooner defects are found, the less resources are used to fix said defects. It's crucial to ensure the effectiveness of automation. Here is the factor divided into 5 main issues:
  • Knowing What They Want and Need, Take It slow and Start Small.

It's better to take the time and acknowledge what the automation needs and what it needs to do. This is because it's difficult to precisely guess what the requirements, the system design, and how much human interaction it will need while in development as clients usually don't exactly know what they want until they see and use it. So, it's better to start with a small example that can be easily presented to clients. It can then be used as a foundation on what changes or enhancements should be made. 
  • Staffing and Expertise

Having the right staff with proper expertise of the functions you want to have for your automation will make it more effective overall as it will be minimizing risks and upping the chance of both satisfaction and profitability. For example, having a project manager with proper knowledge and experience will be of great help in filling positions required for the automation.
  • Schedule and Test Reports

It is important to have, at the very least, a concrete schedule when it comes to testing the product and when the final release can be expected. At the end of each week, it should focus on summarizing all the progress on the automation that has so far been done; what the changes are, what errors have been crossed and fixed, and the plan on what to do the following week will be.  
  • Automated Testing

All IT projects like automations are encouraged to use Test-Driven Development (TDD) where test cases are simply stated, which are a sequence of steps with an expected outcome or function before starting each step of work. After each phase, testing should not only be done by both dedicated testers, and each member of the team working on the project but also automated test servers which in modern times have been the norm to make test much broader and more frequent.
  • Be open and informative

Make sure that your client monitors the progress of the tests, and catches problems earlier rather than late where costs and risks are higher. Provide proof and suggestions, such as:
  • Live Demos – Instead of Power-point presentations or a detailed text document, provide the client with working examples or software that shows the progress you’ve done.
  • Quality Metrics – In recent years, there have been tools made to generate other types of reports such as those on quality. For example, in Java, the most common programming language for automations, there are many tools that check if there are lines of codes that will lead to errors or bugs, or logic that is too complex, or if code violates standards.
  • Charts – It’s useful to have charts to give both the client and the team a general view of their overall progress. For example, a task board that shows which features haven’t started yet, which are currently in progress, which need to be fixed, and which are done can be useful.  
When there is a major mishap or mismatch, the manager must quickly assess how and what resources are necessary. After each test, requirements may evolve or change, which puts more emphasis on communication and management.

4 Tips for Better Construction Job Bids

Hello Buddies, Welcome from the team of The Engineering Projects. We hope you are having a good day. In this article, you will investigate about four remarkable tips for a better job bit that will boost your chances to be hired. Construction is an emerging and fast-growing source of business. However, we cannot neglect that it is a very competitive field at the same time. In this ever-growing world, where the construction business is highly profitable and demanding, most people fail to get better construction jobs due to inaccurate bids. While construction bidding is not an easy task, better understanding and farsightedness can help you win more jobs.

What is construction bidding?

Construction bidding is the process through which you submit a proposal for a specific job. In other words, you send your proposal to a potential client. As simple as it may seem, writing an attractive proposal isn’t easy. Many companies have very unfavorable bid-hit ratios, which translates into wasted time and money. However, this process doesn’t depend entirely on luck. Understanding the process and working diligently can make your construction bidding more manageable and successful. When a client invites contractors to bid on a project, they often split it into different chunks. For example, one chunk of the job might be plumbing and another electrical work. Then, the client will invite various subcontractors to bid on tasks related to their specialties. This process is very smooth as it allows the owners and contractors to develop better relationships and continue their work. Similarly, it also helps the owners to get the best team of contractors for their construction project.

Tips for Submitting Better Construction Job Bids

Preparing a bid proposal for construction jobs takes a lot of time and effort. It requires full focus on understanding the client’s needs, estimating the costs for laborers and equipment, and then bidding. Even the smallest of mistakes can make you lose a highly profitable project opportunity. The following tips will help you in writing the best construction job bids.

?       Select the right project

Many people think that bidding on every job they encounter will increase their chances of getting work. However, that’s not the case. It will only utilize your energy and time with no fair results. Thus, bidding on every job you find is among the worst mistakes construction contractors make. A much more effective strategy is to bid less and bid on those jobs worth your consideration and time. Let’s assume you bid on a particular project without thinking and attend all pre-bid meetings and start taking subcontractor pricing. After analyzing the pricing and crunching the numbers, you realize that it doesn’t offer much profit to your team. So, the only solution at this point is to move on to another project. But what did all the effort, pre-bid meetings, and takeoffs cost you? It was a tremendous waste of time and resources. It can improperly impact your overall profitability as a company. Therefore, the best strategy is to identify the client’s needs and bid on those projects you can perform and give the best results. Before bidding, think about the past projects your company had won and delivered and came out with successful results. If the new projects are similar, bid on them.

?       Develop a positive reputation

General contractors always gauge your effort and professionalism based on the proposals you submit. An attractive proposal highlighting your ability to meet the client’s needs can help you win the job for the bid amount quickly. A good bid proposal is detailed. Take the time to carefully craft your messaging and offer within the proposal before submitting it. To be more precise, the proposal should be professional, comprehensive and accurate. To know more about writing a winning bid proposal for construction, head to bridgitsolutions.com. The company is highly reputable and has put together a great resource about crafting effective construction bids.  

?       Know when to submit the lowest bid

If a brand has no real competitive advantage over others, its chance of winning the bids becomes difficult. The same happens when you are new to the area and are surrounded by highly reputed and competitive companies. If you’ve nonetheless identified the project as one that will further your company’s goals, you may consider placing a relatively low bid. This strategy can help a lot as it attracts more contractors to get the work done at the lowest price. However, it should not be so low that you lose your profit – unless you’re willing to treat the project as a loss leader. However, some contractors value your skills and expertise more than the price. If you have a team of highly skilled professionals capable of managing the client’s needs, that constitutes a competitive edge they’ll likely consider when choosing a contractor.

?       Create accurate estimates

Taking accurate measurements is essential when calculating the appropriate bid. Inaccurate measurements and human errors can cause many problems as it misrepresents the total amount of labor and materials, which can have a devastating impact on your bottom line. The best way to create accurate estimates is by using good estimating software. An efficient software solution can speed up the process and provide error-free, precise, and accurate bids. Similarly, arithmetic errors leave a huge impact on the bid. So, using a calculator is better to ensure better measurements. However, robust construction bid software is the best way to ensure accurate measurements in less time. Choosing the best estimating software is also difficult when there are so many in the market. First of all, understand your needs and what you want the software to do for you. Then, do proper research and choose the best software solution for your goals.

Conclusion:

Preparing a competitive and winning proposal for a construction job requires time and effort. However, no matter how much time you put in, if you don’t have a proper proposal with accurate estimates, your efforts will go in vain. Thus, the tips mentioned above will help you understand the strategies of construction bidding and bidding for the right and winning proposal.

Innovative Engineering Solutions Improve Efficiency in the Offshore Oil Industry

Hi Friends! Hope you’re well today. I welcome you on board. In this post, I’ll detail how Innovative Engineering Solutions Improve Efficiency in the Offshore Oil Industry. Despite ambitious global goals to reduce carbon emissions, fossil fuels such as gas and oil still provided over 80% of the world’s energy in 2019.  The petroleum industry is still vital for global energy supplies, and, according to the International Labor Organization, directly employs almost 6 million people around the world. To improve levels of safety and productivity while at the same time meeting ambitious targets for a low-carbon future, the industry is making significant changes. Innovative technologies are required to maximize the recovery of fossil fuels while at the same time reduce the environmental impact of extraction, and improve the safety and efficiency of offshore rigs. The work of engineers from a range of specialist engineering fields contributes to cutting-edge developments to improve construction, extraction, and production. However, as offshore rigs become increasingly digitized, it is technopreneurs and electronic engineers who develop solutions to safely maintain equipment, minimize unnecessary emissions, and ultimately improve the safety of offshore oil rigs through increased automation.

Maintaining Safe and Reliable Systems

Working on offshore rigs is dangerous and accidents and injuries are common. In 2018, there were over 170 injuries reported within the offshore energy industry located on the US Outer Continental Shelf. From the design of a rig to the installation of generators, electronic engineers are accountable for ensuring power and distribution systems are maintained and operate reliably. Although the majority of injuries on a rig occur through the use of heavy equipment, fires and explosions can be triggered by faulty electrical equipment. This can lead to serious and potentially devastating injuries as workers are electrocuted, burned, or even crushed.  Specialist offshore accident attorneys can provide support when accidents and injuries occur. Improving training for roughnecks and drillers and minimizing the risks from equipment failure must be a priority for electronic engineers.

The Benefits of Unmanned Rigs

With the increased use of automation on rigs, the risk to personnel is considerably reduced. Already, the majority of engineers involved with oil rigs are based onshore, and through the use of innovative and cutting edge technologies, removing the other workers is now possible. For several years, the technology for remote surveillance and control has been implemented in the offshore industry, but with increasingly automated control systems, fully remote operations are becoming a reality. Enabling more remote operations has become essential recently, and the pressures of the past year have prompted the increased development and adoption of AI on rigs. As well as monitoring systems, robot roughnecks will be able to interact with equipment, inspecting machinery, and carry out simple physical tasks. This increased automation will drastically improve safety levels and significantly lower production costs. Efficiency is also increased as remote sensors and controls allow for a quicker and more targeted response to any changes, resulting in fewer shutdowns.

Implementing Smart Technology to Enhance Efficiency

A drop in the price of oil has encouraged companies to look at innovative ways to save money. Other digital technologies including smart sensors have increased the production from oilfields by 6% while at the same time significantly lowering running costs. Offshore oil rigs have increasingly been fitted with sensors that can measure sensitive field conditions such as temperature and pressure. This information is then sent to engineers on land who can quickly make necessary adjustments to equipment. Other environmental changes such as commonly occurring methane leaks can also be detected remotely with the use of cloud-based machine learning software.

Environmental Engineers Reduce Harmful Emissions

Minimizing the amount of methane leaked into the atmosphere is one of the best ways for the industry to reduce emissions, and preventing waste from leaks is just one of the roles of environmental engineers within the petroleum industry. Sophisticated AI and unmanned rigs may improve efficiency and safety levels on offshore rigs. However, the negative impact of the oil and gas industry on the environment is still enormous. Roughly 15% of carbon emissions associated with the petroleum industry is created during extraction and production processes, and several major oil companies have promised to reduce these emissions in the range between 50% and 65% by 2050. To help to achieve this, environmental engineers look at ways to reduce the need for controlled burning of oil and gas, known as flaring. In addition, the emissions created by building new rigs and other developments can be reduced by using low-carbon electricity from renewable energy. The petroleum industry is making significant changes to adapt to a safer and cleaner low-carbon future. These changes require increasingly innovative technology to improve exploration and drilling in challenging environments, lower the costs of extraction and production, and create automated and unmanned rigs, where costly downtime is reduced and the risk to personnel is minimized. That’s all for today. Hope you find this article helpful. If you have any questions, you can approach me in the section below. I’d love to help you the best way I can. Thank you for reading the article.

An Overview of The Thin Film Transistor And Its Use in Displays

Hello knowledge seekers! welcome to an overview of thin film transistors. I hope you are doing well. Thin film transistors are crucial components of digital display. These transistors have radically transformed our devices and the lifestyle of digital display electronic users. These are the mainstay of major aspects of our lives, from our daily life devices to the big industries, security, medical equipment, and many other departments. These transistors are the driving force behind the success of flat panel displays and most probably, the displays you are reading this article on, such as laptops, mobile screens, monitors, LCDs, etc., using thin film transistors.

Today, the motto of this long article is the exploration of thin film transistors. We’ll embark on the foundational introduction of this transistor and then we’ll move toward the historical evolution of this transistor. A detailed discussion will follow, covering the workings, types, comparison with other transistors, and the pivotal role in covering modern display screens. This is going to be very informative so let’s get started.

Thin Film Transistor Introduction

A thin film transistor, or TFT, is a specialized type of field-effective transistor (FET) in which the semiconductor material is deposited on a rigid or flexible substrate in the form of a thin film. It is essentially used in a large number of applications, notably in display device technologies such as liquid crystal displays, monitors, and other related fields. It is a lightweight and efficient transistor type and is different from the bulky and power-consuming traditional transistors.

When we look around our world, we can see that optical displays have become an integral part of our modern life that defines and shapes the importance of digital electronics. In flat panel displays, these thin film transistors are arranged within the matrix panel and act as the backbone of the display devices.

Thin Film Transistor Configuration

Just like other transistors, thin film transistors are made with semiconductor materials. These are made with the semiconductor and the configuration of these transistors decides the current flow direction and transistor behavior in the circuit. The configuration of the transistor consists of the semiconductor material arrangement. Before knowing the details, let’s discuss two important terms here:

  1. The N-type material is the semiconductor that is dopped with extra electrons that make up the abundance of electrons in these materials. 

  2. The P-type material is the doped semiconductor, where the doping material has an abundance of holes, so the holes are the main charge carriers in such materials. 

Just like other transistors, the thin film configurations are of two types that are discussed below:

Thin Film Transistor NPN Configuration

The NPN TFT consists of a configuration in which the P-type material is sandwiched between two N-type semiconductor materials. As a result, when the voltage is applied to the gate, the electrons are the main charge carriers, and the current flows from the emitter to the collector. 

Thin Film Transistor PNP Configuration

The PNP TFT has the arrangement of the two p-type semiconductor layers on the sides of the N-type material. As a result, on the voltage application on the gate, the hole flows from the emitter to the collector and serves as the main charge carrier. 

Thin Film Transistor History

Over the past fifty years, thin film translators have changed, updated, and improved, and the story of its life is quite innovative. Here is an overview of the history of thin film transistors and how they have made their place in modern display electronics.

Thin Film Transistor Early Development (1950s-1960s)

In the early 20th century, the physicist Julius Lilienfeld proposed the concept of a field-effect transistor (FET). At that time, this concept did not get that much importance to be utilised int the practical work. However, working on the FETs gained popularity in the 1950s and this has changed the whole era. 

In 1947, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley, working in the Bell lab, invented the bipolar junction transistor (BJT), and this revolutionized the whole electronic world. This breakthrough led to the invention of other types of transistors. 

In 1962, the first thin film transistor was developed at the RCA laboratories by Paul K. Weimer. This work acted as a groundbreaking because he has fabricated the transistor on the insulating material that no one did before. Till then, transistors were made only on silicon wafers, but Weimer created the transistor with flexible, transparent, and insulated material, and this acted as the base of transparent and better electronic displays.

Thin Film Tnrasistor Progress Era (1970s-1980s)

In this decade, the thin film transistor gained popularity and this led the researchers to work and experiment on this transistor to make it even better. This is specifically renowned for the introduction and usage of amorphous silicon (a-Si) as the semiconductor material for this transistor. 

In 1979, T. Brody developed amorphous silicon-based TFTs and therefore, is often regarded as the "father of the flat-panel display,” because of his work on active-matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs). He knew the properties of the amorphous silicon in TFTs and worked on it in detail. According to him, it can be easily used on large surface areas and has a simple fabrication process even for thin films. 

Before the introduction of thin film transistors, televisions, monitors, and other displays used thick and heavy cathode-ray tubes (CRTs). Yet, after the successful work on the thin film transistors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) gained traction and took the place of CRTs. 

Early LCDs used passive-matrix displays that had some disadvantages, such as slow response or low image quality. Applying the TFTs in these displays solved these problems and played a crucial role in the success of LCDs. The latest LCDs use AMLCD technology that provides quick response, high quality, captivating colors, and, as a whole, the best quality displays. 

Thin Film Transistor Application Commercialization (1990s-2000s)

In the 1990s, experimentation and research made it possible to represent the TFT displays for commercial use. The introduction of these displays in the market has made the rapid adoption of thin film transistor applications in several devices. 

This was the time when the TFT LCDs were dominating other display technologies for commercial purposes. Companies like Sony, Samsung, and others were adopting this for the displays of computers, laptops, televisions, and other small to large-scale displays. The low power usage, high-quality display, and flat surface display were the major qualities that dominated the large and heavy CRT-based TVs. 

In 1998, the electronics company “Sharp" commercially displayed the first TFT-LCD TV, which was a major milestone for the conversion of CRT-based displays to TFT LCDs. This has made major changes in the whole electronics companies' milestones and working methods. 

Thin Film Transistor Displays Advancements (2000s-2010s)

The new century is considered the advancement era with respect to the thin film translator displays. Not only the displays but also the transistors themselves bear many updating processes and this has made the transistor even better. 

Till the 1990s, amorphous silicon transistors were in use but in the 2000s, polysilicon (p-Si) was introduced as the material for thin film transistors and this has made many changes in its output. Polysilicon has higher mobility than amorphous silicon; therefore, it shows a faster-switching property and, as a result, provides better display quality. The high resolution has made it eligible for better smartphones, digital cameras, and OLED displays.

It seems like the working and experimentation on the thin film transistors never stopped because, in 2012, Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) was introduced as the base material for their production. It offers even faster mobility and low power consumption and thus was considered the best choice for the 4K and 8K displays. The estimate of this technology can be done by knowing the fact that  IGZO technology was used by the Apple company for the iPad Pro and MacBook line displays. 

After this, the market wanted to do something new and better so they started working on the foldable displays. This demand of foldable and flexible devices has intensified the researchers to work on the foldable transistors. As a result, the organic TFTs (OTFTs) came into the conversion that made the displays foldable, rollable, bendable, and provided the best performance. This has revolutionized the electronic industry and the work on wearables and other such displays and devices was the main focus of the companies. 

Currently, the work on the thin film transits is still at its peak, and experts are working on making it better with respect to performance, reliability, and quality. You will learn about the latest trends and work at the end of this article, where we’ll be discussing the TFT applications. 

Thin Film Transistor Structure

The structure of the thin film transistor resembles the other types of field effect transistors. The transistor has three terminals and the introduction of each of them is given in the table below:


Terminal

Function

Gate

It controls the on or off state of the transistor through the voltage application. 

Source 

It provides the input current to the transistor; therefore, it is known as the source. 

Drain 

It received the output current from the transistor. 

Thin Film Transistor Key Components

Let’s define the thin film transistor again with respect to its structure:

“It is a specialized form of  field-effect transistor (FET) in which a thin layer of the active semiconductor layer with dialect layers and metallic contacts is deposited on the supporting substrate.”

The following are the basic key components of the thin film transistors:

Thin Film Transistor Substrate

This is the base material at which the thin film transistor layer is deposited. It provides the foundation of the transistor and is crucial for supporting the whole TFT structure. The older versions of TFT were made of glass and the newer ones use flexible plastic as substrate. The TFTs made with the glass substrates are used in the TFT LCDs and plastic and polymer transistors are usually designed for flexible displays, foldable devices, etc. 

Thin Film Transistor Semiconductor Layer

The purpose of a semiconductor layer is to act as the channel between the source and drain terminals for the electron flow when the gate terminal is applied. We have discussed all these in the history section of this article. The following is the detail of the semiconductor layer material along with their specifications:

  • Amorphous silicon is a low-cost semiconductor material that is widely used in traditional LCDs.

  • Polysilicon (p-Si) has higher electron mobility than amorphous silicon and provides a fast switching speed; therefore, it is considered a good choice for high-resolution and demanding electronic displays. 

  • The Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) also has fast electron mobility and provides transparency; therefore, it is usually utilized in advanced resolution displays that require low power consumption. 

  • Organic semiconductors are used in the latest and most advanced technologies and where the companies require flexible displays. 

Thin Film Transistor Gate Electrodes

The gate electrodes are the conductive material that controls the current flow through the source to the drain. It applied the voltage that influences the semiconductor layer beneath the gate. It is typically made of aluminum (Al), molybdenum (Mo), chromium (Cr), and other metals. The gate electrode is situated on one side of the thin dialect layer and forms the parallel capacitor with the channel. 

Thin Film Transistor Gate Dielect

It is the thin layer of insulating material that electrically isolates the gate electrode from the semiconductor material. It is so thin as to allow the electrical field to influence the semiconductor's conductivity. The common materials used in the gate dialect are silicon dioxide (SiO₂) or silicon nitride (Si₃N₄).

The thickness of this layer is crucial to the thin film transistor's performance because it determines the efficiency of the gate to control the transistor. 

Thin Film Transistor Electrodes

The source and drain electrodes are made with highly efficient conducting materials such as aluminum (Al), gold (Au), or silver (Ag). The source provides the electrons or hole supply (depending on the type of semiconductor material), whereas the drain collects the electrons once they have been traveled through the semiconductor material. 

The source and drain electrodes work with the gate and provide the current flow through the transistor in order to provide the main working of the transistor. 

Thin Film Transistor Channel

The channel is the transistor’s area of the semiconductor layer where the charges move (either hole or electron) when the voltage is applied to the gate terminal, that is when the transistor is turned on. This voltage results in the charge induction in the semiconductor material and this creates the conductive path between the source and the drain. 

Thin Film Transistor Passivation Layer

The passivation layer is responsible for the protection of the transistor from moisture, dust, and other contaminants to maintain its performance. It is usually made of a dielectric material like silicon nitride (Si₃N₄). This layer is responsible for the transistor’s long life and reliability. 

Thin Film Transistor Working

The thin film transistor is a type of field effect transistor (FET) that follows the principle of modulating electrical conductivity and works through the electrical field. These are the tiny switches that change their on/off situation quickly and charge the pixel accordingly. The state of the thin film transistor or, in return, the pixel’s properties result in the formation of the display. Hundreds of thousands of pixels collectively create the images on the devices, and the combination of brightness, on, off, and other features collectively creates the videos on the devices. The details of the thin film transistor’s working are described below:

Thin Film Transistor Operation Mechanism

There are two operating states for the thin film transistor:

  1. When no voltage is applied to the gate terminal of a thin film transistor, it is considered off. At this point, there is no conductive path between the source and drain; therefore, no current flows through the transistor. In the display applications, the pixel does not have any output. 

  2.  When the positive voltage is applied to the gate terminal, it creates a conductive path from source to drain and the current can now pass through the transistor. As a result, the pixel of the display device is then charged or discharged according to the current flow. This either turns the pixel on or changes its brightness and the combination of these pixels makes the picture on the display devices. 

The state of the transistor is decided on the basis of threshold voltage (Vth), which is defined as:

“The threshold voltage (Vth) of the thin film transistor is the minimum voltage that is required to turn the transistor on.”

 Below this voltage, the transistor is off, and vice versa. The typical threshold voltage depends on the transistor's internal structure and specifications. Usually, lower threshold values are preferable for better performance at low voltage.

Thin Film Transistor Pexel Charging

In the display devices, the TFT acts as a switch to change the pixel state. In the on state, the TFT allows the current flow towards the pixel and charges it until the next cycle. The voltage applied to the transistor decides the amount of current passing to the pixel and that is responsible for the pixel brightness. 

A capacitor is usually added to each pixel to retain the transistor’s charges until the next refresh cycle. The rapid on/off situation of the transistor results in the brightness, illumination, and off state of the pixel. A reason to consider the TFTs best for the display is the analog control of the transistor’s state. The amount of current passing through the source to the drain can be controlled in an analog manner; therefore, the pixel brightness and picture quality may vary. 

Thin Film Transistor Types

The table below shows the fundamental types of thin film transistors along with the material used in the manufacturing as well as the basic features:


Type

Material

Features

Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) TFT

Amorphous Silicon

Low cost, simple manufacturing, lower electron mobility

Low-Temperature Polycrystalline

Polycrystalline Silicon

High electron mobility, faster switching, better performance

Organic TFT (OTFT)

Organic semiconductors (polymers/small molecules)

Flexible substrates, low cost, lower performance

Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) TFT

Cadmium Selenide

High electron mobility, fast response time

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) TFT

Zinc Oxide

Non-toxic, good performance for transparent displays

Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) TFT

Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide

High mobility, energy-efficient, transparent

P-Type & N-Type TFT

P-type (positive) & N-type (negative)

Efficient complementary circuits, more complex design

Thin Film Transistor Fabrication Process

The fabrication process of thin film transistors involves several steps in a clean and contamination-free environment. The process varies for TFT types but here is a general outline of the processes required for thin film transistor fabrication:

Thin Film Transistor Substrate Preparation

The first step in the fabrication process is the preparation of the substrate material. As mentioned before, traditional TFTs use rigid material, such as glass, as the substrate, whereas, the latest TFTs have flexible material, such as transparent, as the substrate. 

The preparation process just involves thoroughly cleaning of the substrate surface to remove any particles or impurities. This seems a simple process but it ensures that the TFT’s performance is not affected by unwanted particles. Based on the type of substrate, the chemical or base is applied to the surface. 

Thin Film Transistor Gate Material Deposition

The step involves the gate electrode deposition on the substrate. The gates are made with reactive materials like aluminum, gold, or chromium, and different techniques are applied for the deposition. The two most common are:

  1. Physical vapor deposition (PVD)

  2. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD)

Usually, photolithography is the technique applied for the pattern formation of the gate electrode. It involves the application of photoresist material on the surface. After that, the material is then exposed to the light for the right pattern formation. 

Thin Film Transistor Gate Insulation

The gate insulator layer electrically insulates and separates the gate from the source and drain terminals. Hence, a thin film is applied to the gate that is typically made of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) or silicon nitride (Si₃N₄). Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and sputtering are the common techniques for such processes. 

Thin Film Transistor Semiconductor Layer Deposition

Based on the type of the thin film transistor, the semiconductor layer is applied to the product formed till now. The common materials for this layer are amorphous silicon (a-Si), polycrystalline silicon (p-Si), or organic material for organic TFTs (OTFT), and the processes involved are PECVD, CVD, or spin-coating (for organic materials).

Thin Film Transistors Source and Drain Formation

Just like the pattern process of a gate electrode, the source and drain use photolithography technology for the source and drain formation. Once this process is complete after the light exposition, the excess metal is removed from the surface using the wet etching or dry etching process to get clean and precise patterns. 

This step involves the use of PVD or CVD techniques for the source or drain terminal formation that is also made of aluminum, gold, or chromium. After this step, our three terminals of the TFT are now formed successfully. 

Thin Film Transistor Testing and Quality Control

This is the final step that ensures the perfect quality and performance of the TFT. After the fabrication process, the TFT is now ready for the work, but the electrical testing is done on the transistors to see if they are working ideally. The whole yield is monitored under strict parameters and the only transistors passing this test are sent to the market.

Note: for some types of TFTs, the channel formed during the fabrication process is doped to get the required electrical properties. Moreover, processes like passivation layer formation and annealing are optional during manufacturing and depend on the fabrication team’s choice. 

Thin Film Transistor Key Characteristics

Here are the basic characteristics of the thin film transistors that make them different from the other types of transistors:

Thin Film Structure

The TFTs, as expected from the name, contain a very thin layer of conductors, semiconductors, or insulators on the substrate. The thickness of this film ranges from nanometers to a few micrometers.

Thin Film Transistor Low Power Consumption

The low power consumption feature of this transistor makes it an ideal choice for the devices working on the battery or require low power feature. It consumes very low energy, especially for static images. 

Thin Film Transistor High Switching Speed

The TFTs have a higher switching speed than other types. The rapid rate of high/low states makes it ideal for high-speed applications like display devices that require a quick pixel refresh. Polycrystalline silicon (p-Si) TFTs have an even more rapid rate of switching as compared to the amorphous silicon TFTs. 

Thin Film Transistors Pixel Control

The thin film transistors have precise pixel control and the analog current control makes it a good choice for the varying brightness of the pixels. The TFTs allow the individual control of each pixel, which results in a sharp display and better color contrast as compared to other transistor types. 

Thin Film Transistor Flexible Substrate

This is a unique feature that justifies the popularity of this transistor. The flexible substrate helps the transistor to be used in wearables, flexible displays, mobiles, and other such devices. Organic TFTs (OTFTs) are the ideal choice for flexible electronics because they work in low-temperature ranges and have a high flexibility rate. 

Thin Film Transistor High Mobility

When dealing with display devices, the mobility rate is a crucial parameter. It is defined as:

“The carrier mobility is the rate at which the charge carriers (hole or electrons) can move through the semiconductor material.”

The higher mobility rate means fast switching and the TFTs have a great mobility rate. The p-Si TFTs have an even higher mobility rate as compared to the a-Si TFTs; therefore, they are a preferable choice for high-resolution and high-speed applications such as smartphones.

Thin Film Transistor Transparency

The thin film transistor is made with transparent material as the substrate, conductive layer, and semiconductor layer. Hence, these provide a transparent appearance and are the perfect choice for applications like augmented reality displays, head-up displays, etc.

Thin Film Transistor Cost

The thin film transistor is considered the cost-effective choice because the fabrication process of these transistors is uncomplicated and does not require a high cost and heavy equipment. Moreover, in large-scale production, the cost is reduced more, and cost is the basic consideration when choosing any electronic device. 

 

Thin Film Transistor VS Traditional Transistors

The thin film translator is a type of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) but it has several distinctions from the traditional transistors. The following is the comparison between the TFTs, MOSFETs, and bipolar junction transistors (BJT) that will help you to understand the reason behind the TFT's popularity for display devices.

Fabrication Process

The main distinction between the transistors is the fabrication process that decides its features and applications. The TFTs are made by depositing a thin film of semiconductor material on the glass or plastic substrate. 

On the other hand, the traditional transistors are made through the fabrication process on silicon wafers, which are bulky and cost more. This is the reason why these transistors require complex and rigid substrates. This not only limits the applications of traditional transistors to power electronics and integrated circuits but also requires a more technical fabrication process. 

Application Domain

Thin film transistors have applications mainly in display devices such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), monitors, mobile displays, etc. where there is a need to control each pixel through the transistor and the particular analog current is required. It is an ideal choice for large surface area applications and electronics requiring a flexible and transparent substrate. 

On the contrary, the BJTs are usually considered a good choice for the switching devices and amplification process. This is used in the audio devices that require the frequency change, such as the radio and other devices. 

The MOSFET has applications in digital electronics, power control microprocessors, digital devices, and many others. The power electronics have several applications of MOSFET. 

Operating Principle

The thin film transistor is the type of field effect transistor so the gate terminal controls the current flowing through the source to the drain through the semiconductor channel. The operating principle of MSOFET is the same as the TFT, where the voltage controls the working of the transistor but the bipolar junction transistor has a different operating mechanism than these two. It is controlled by the current flow through the base terminal; hence, the base controls the source and drain. 

Size and Power Consumption

The thin film transistor is different from other transistor family members with respect to size, performance, and power consumption. The core reasons are its fabrication process and internal structure. These are very thin and are designed for transparent screens or other display screens. These are lightweight transistors and require less space; therefore, they are suitable for applications requiring such features. 

On the other side, the BJT and MOSFET are bulky and require more space than the thin film transistors. These are not suitable for display devices but are part of large circuits such as microcontrollers. 


The table below has the summary of all the discussion about the difference between these three basic types of transistors that will help you to understand the topic in just a glance:


Feature

TFT

BJT

MOSFET

Fabrication

Thin film on glass/plastic

Bulk silicon

Bulk silicon

Main Use

Displays (LCDs, OLEDs)

Amplification, RF circuits

Digital, power control

Semiconductor Material

Amorphous/poly silicon, organic

Silicon, GaAs

Silicon, GaAs

Operating Principle

Field-effect control (FET)

Current control (bipolar)

Voltage control (FET)

Substrate

Glass/plastic (flexible possible)

Rigid silicon wafers

Rigid silicon wafers

Flexibility

High (suitable for flexible tech)

Low

Low

Speed

Lower (suited for display pixels)

Fast for analog applications

Fast for digital/power apps


Thin Film Transistor Use in Displays

As discussed before, thin film transistors have a significant role in revolutionizing the display device industry. The impact is so strong that TFTs are the ideal choice for almost every type of display screen. Here are some fundamental real-life applications that have been made extraordinary because of the thin film transistor involvement. 

Thin Film Transistors in LCDs

The thin film transistors are the main technology behind liquid crystal displays (LCDs). The active matrix controls the brightness, states, and working of each individual pixel for the sharp and smooth transitions in the videos. This feature has created room for other display technologies using the same technique. As a result, the thin film transistors are the backbone of several display devices ranging from small smartphones to large surface LCD monitors and televisions. 

Thin Film Transistor in Electronic Paper Display

The electronic paper display (EPD) devices are designed for the paper-like reading experience with low power consumption and less retention for the eyes. These devices use thin film transistors for high contrast and pixel control with high resolution. 

Thin Film Transistor in Touch Screens

A great variety of display devices enable touch screen control and such displays are made with thin film transistors that provide a smooth experience and accuracy in touch screens and result in a more user-friendly interface.

Thin Film Transistors in Medical Imaging

Medical imaging devices are now becoming more attractive and intuitive and thin film transistors have a role in it. These transistors provide high-resolution X-rays, CT scans, and other devices with great details on the results. Moreover, the low power-consuming displays make it easy for the manufacturers to create battery-oriented devices that can be remotely used.

Thin Film Transistor in Automotive Displays  

The automotive displays require a technique with low power consumption and flexibility, so thin film transistors are the ideal choice. These are used in the car dashboard, infotainment displays, and even the traffic signs in some areas. This provides the drivers with a good environment with respect to entertainment, information, and clear visibility at low power consumption. 

Thin Film Transistor in Industrial Automation

The industries are moving towards automation and intelligent systems and this requires monitoring and visual inquiry for critical monitoring. This has enhanced the need and use of thin film transistor displays in industries because these are lightweight screens and can be utilized at any place for continuous use.

Thin Film Transistor for Scientific Instruments

The latest scientific instruments show automatic calculation and measurement and for this, they require a high-definition display that shows the small digits and reading without any visual error. The thin film transistors are present in the modern oscilloscope, electron microscope, and other such instruments. 

Thin Film Transistors in Digital Signage

A significant example of the applications using thin film transistors is digital signage, which makes electronic advertisement inexpensive, durable, and prominent. Digital billboards, public display messages, advertisement screens, and gigantic-sized liquid display screens use thin film transistors for the illumination of a large number of pixels at high resolution. 

Thin Film Transistor Disadvantages

Thin film transistors are the popular choice for modern electronic displays but they have some limitations as compared to some other options and the discussion can not be completed until we mention them:

Thin Film Transistor Limited Viewing Angle

The biggest disadvantage that is the reason to move towards the other latest technologies is the limited view angle of TFT. We all have experienced the issue of LCDs where the side angle of the display may show the screen with the least brightness or distortion. The TFT only shows the right pixel brightness from the front and for the big screens where more than one viewer is using the display may show the incomplete view.

Thin Film Transistor Low Response Rate

The TFT has a low response time as compared to some other latest techniques, such as OLED, and plasma. In some applications, the TFT shows the motion blue and this is especially true for high-speed display applications such as high-definition video games. 

Thin Film Transistor Uniformity Issues

In the case of some TFT applications, the back bleeding and inconsistent image quality fail the thin film transistor in some severe weather, load, or speed applications.

Thin film transistors are one of the most dominant devices for display devices because of their reliability, performance, low power consumption, inexpensive fabrication, and other features. The foldable screens and the high-resolution displays are usually made of thin film transistors. There are some limitations of TFT when compared with the most updated techniques of this era but overall, we can say that TFT has revolutionized the display screen industries. 

Syed Zain Nasir

I am Syed Zain Nasir, the founder of <a href=https://www.TheEngineeringProjects.com/>The Engineering Projects</a> (TEP). I am a programmer since 2009 before that I just search things, make small projects and now I am sharing my knowledge through this platform.I also work as a freelancer and did many projects related to programming and electrical circuitry. <a href=https://plus.google.com/+SyedZainNasir/>My Google Profile+</a>

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