Thanks
to display technology unveiled last month by Royal Philips, newspaper readers
are one step closer to reading electronic versions of their favorite
publications.
The
electronics manufacturer took the wraps off its Polymer Vision display, an
ultra-thin, large-area scrollable device that’s capable of letting consumers
comfortably read text-intensive documents.
The
display, which could be incorporated into mobile devices like cellular phones,
has a readable area of five diagonal inches, 30 percent greater than displays on
current devices such as some PDAs.
Philips’
flexible active-matrix display incorporates an ultra-thin backplane with
organics-based thin film transistors and E Ink’s electronic ink material.
Source: Royal Philips
Philips
said mass production of the rollable displays is not expected before 2006. In
the meantime, Philips and its partner, E Ink Corp., will pour resources into
further developing the micro-bead ink material through which the devices will
display information.
Philips
in 2001 invested in E Ink Corp. to develop a high-resolution electronic ink
display suitable for use in smart handheld devices.
The
company came up with an electronic ink technology that consists of millions of
tiny microcapsules. Altering positively and negatively charged particles
suspended within the capsules can create images and text on virtually any type
of display, according to the company.
Displays
made with electronic ink technology are ideal candidates for reading text- or
image-intensive applications because of their paper-like readability and
extremely low power consumption.
The
Polymer Vision displays, for example, support resolutions of 85 dots per inch
and a bending radius of .75-inch, Philips said, due to the display’s
organics-based QVGA, or quarter video graphics array foundation.
Philips
said the effect is bi-stable, which means it’s possible to let the electronic
display function without large power requirements.
To
that end, the rollable display can be disconnected from a power supply and
retain the information displayed until it’s updated (see sidebar).
Philips
said the lightweight, large-area displays are nearly unbreakable and can be
rolled up into a small-sized housing when not actively used.
Philips
said it could make more than 5,000 Polymer Vision displays per year. The company
is now determining how to increase production.
| How
does electronic ink work?
Electronic
ink is a proprietary material that is processed into a film for
integration into electronic displays.
The
principal components of electronic ink are millions of tiny
microcapsules, about the diameter of a human hair. In one incarnation,
each microcapsule contains positively charged white particles and
negatively charged black particles suspended in a clear fluid.
click to enlarge image
When a negative electric field is applied, the white particles move to
the top of the microcapsule where they become visible to the user. This
makes the surface appear white at that spot.
At
the same time, an opposite electric field pulls the black particles to
the bottom of the microcapsules where they are hidden. By reversing this
process, the black particles appear at the top of the capsule, which now
makes the surface appear dark at that spot.
To
form an E Ink electronic display, the ink is printed onto a sheet of
plastic film that is laminated to a layer of circuitry. The circuitry
forms a pattern of pixels that can then be controlled by a display
driver.
These
microcapsules are suspended in a liquid “carrier medium” allowing
them to be printed using existing screen printing processes onto
virtually any surface, including glass, plastic, fabric and even paper.
-
Marcelo Duran
|