ABSTRACT

E-paper is a revolutionary material that can be used to make next generation electronic displays. It is portable reusable storage and display medium that look like paper but can be repeatedly written one thousands of times. These displays make the beginning of a new area for battery power information applications such as cell phones, pagers, watches and hand -held computers etc. Two companies are carrying our pioneering works in the field of development of electronic ink and both have developed ingenious methods to produce electronic ink. O ne is E- ink, a company based at ambridge, in !.".#. The other company is $erox entre. (oth technologies being doing research work at the $erox%s &alo #lto 'esearch

developed commercially for electronically co nfigurable paper like displays rely on microscopic beads that change color in response to the charges on nearby electrodes. To build e-paper, several different technologies exist, some using plastic substrate and electronics so that the display is flexible. E-paper or electronics ink display technology designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. !nlike a conventional flat panel display, which uses a back light to illuminate its pixels, electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is capable of holding text and images indefinitely without drawing electricity, while allowing the image to be change later. )ike traditional paper, E-paper must be lightweight, flexible, glare free and low cost. 'esearch found that in *ust few years this technology could replace paper in many situations and leading us ink a truly paperless world.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

+. I,T'O-! TIO, +.+ .istory /. TE .,O)O01 !"E/.+ 0yricon /./ Electrophoretic /.2 Electrowetting /.4 Electrofluid ic 2. 6E1 (E,I7IT" 2.+ &aper-like 'eadability 2./ !ltra-)ow &ower onsumption 2.2 Thin, )ight 7orm 7actor 2.4 The !ltimate :obile -isplay "olution 2.; Twistable 2.3 "imple manufacturing process 4. ;. 3. .I0.)I0.T" O7 E)E T'O,I -I"#-<#,T#0E" #&&)I #TIO," 3.+ Electronic "helf )abel 3./ Electronic =atch and lock 3.2 e-(ook 3.2 "mart ard -isplay 3.4 ,ewspapers 3.; Other products 5. >. T.E 7!T!'E " E,#'IO O, )!"IO, (I()IO0'#&.1 I,6

+ / 2 2 2 3 5 8 8 +9 +9 +9 ++ ++ +/ +2 +4 +4 +; +; +3 +3 +5 +> +8 /9

E-Paper Technology

1. INTRODUCTION
Today%s electronic displays have ever more evolved to be more lightweight, efficient and clear. 1et the importance of the paper has not diminished. =e still prefer it to others for a variety of reasons including its readability, high contrast, convenient h andling, minimum power re?uirement cost and strain less reading it offers. #t the same time, an electronic display offers us a paperless environment and relieves us from carrying loads of paper for referring to information when re?uired. Electronic ink is a pioneering invention that combines all the desired features of a modern electronic display and the sheer convenience and physical versatility of sheet of paper. E-paper or electronic paper is sometimes called radio paper or smart paper. &aper would be perfect except for one obvious thing@ printed words can%t change. The effort is to create a dynamic high-resolution electronic display that%s thin and flexible enough to become the next generation of paper. The technology has been identified and develop ed is well under way. =ithin five years, it is envisioned electronic books that can display volumes of information as easily as flipping a page and permanent newspapers that update themselves daily via wireless broadcast. condition, last longer. They deliver the readability of paper under virtually any without backlighting. #nd electronic ink displays are persistent without

power, drawing current only when they change, which means batteries can be smaller and

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

1.1 History
Electronic paper was first developed in the +859s by , ick " heridon at $eroxAs &alo #lto 'esearch center. The first electronic paper, called 0yricon, consisted of tiny, statically charged balls that were black o n one side and white on the other. The BtextB of the paper was altered by the presence of an electric field, which turned the balls up or down. In the +889s a nother type of electronic paper was invented by Cos ep h Cacobso n, who later co- founded the corporation E I nk which formed a partnership with & hilips o mpo ne nts two years later to develop and market the technology

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

2. TECHNOLOGY USED
2.1 Gyricon
Electronic paper was first developed in the +859s by ,ick " heridon at $ero x% s &a lo #lto 'e searc h e nt er. The first electronic paper, called 0yr ico n, consisted of polyethylene spheres between 5; and +93 micrometers across. Each sphere is a Ca nus p art ic le composed of negatively charged black plastic on one side and positively charged white plastic on the otherDeach bead is thus a dipoleE. The spheres are embedded in a transparent silicone sheet, with each sphere suspended in a bubble of oil so that they can rotate freely. The polarity of the voltage applied to each pair of electrodes then determines whether the white or black side is face- up, thus giving the pixel a white or black appearance. #t the 7&- /99> e xhibition, Capanese company "oken demonstrated a wall with electronic wall-paper using this technology has

2.2 Electro !oretic

#n electrophoretic display forms visible images by rearranging charged pigment particles using an applied e lectr ic fie ld.

7ig-/.+@ (asic "cheme of an Electrophoretic -isplay

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

In

the

simplest

implementation dye

of

an added

electrophoretic to the oil,

display, with

t ita nium dio xide particles approximately one micrometer in diameter are dispersed in a hydrocarbon oil. # dark-colored is also along s ur facta nts a nd c ha r ging age nts t hat cause the particles to take on an electric charge. This mixture is placed between two parallel, conductive plates separated by a gap of +9 to +99 micro me ter s. =hen a voltage is applied across the two plates, the particles will migrate e lect rop hore t ica lly to the plate bearing the opposite charge from that on the particles. =hen the particles are located at the front DviewingE side of the display, it appears white, because light is scattered back to the viewer by the high- index titanium particles. =hen the particles are located at the rear side of the display, it appears dark, because the incident light is absorbed by the colored dye. If the rear electrode is divided into a number of small picture elements Dp ixe ls E, then an image can be formed by app lying the appropriate voltage to each region of the display to create a pattern of reflecting and absorbing regions. Electrophoretic displays are considered prime examples of the electronic paper category, because of their paper- like appearance and low power consumption. Electrophoretic displays can be manufactured using the Ele ctro nics o n & last ic b y )ase r 'e lease D E&)a 'E p rocess developed by & hil ips 'esea rc h to enable existing #:- ) - D#ctive matrix li?uid crystal displayE manufacturing plants to create flexible plastic displays.

2.2.1. Electronics on "l#s tic $y L#ser Rele#se %E"L#R& '

Electronics on & lastic by )aser 'elease DE&)a'E using is a method for

manufacturing flexible

electrophoretic

display

conventional

#:- ) -

manufacturing e?uipment avoiding the need to build new factories. The technology can also be used to manufacture flexible O)E- DOrganic )E-E displays using standard O )E- fabrication facilities. The technology was developed by & hilip s 'esea rc h a nd uses standard display glass as used in T7 T- ) - processing plants. It is coated with a layer of polyimide using a standard sp in- coa t ing p rocedure used in the production of #:-) - displays. Dept. of Information AWH Engineering Technology College

E-Paper Technology ; This polymide coating can now have a regular T7 T matrix formed on top of it in a standard T7 T processing

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

plant to form the plastic display, which can then be removed using a laser to finish the display and the glass reused thus lowering the total cost of manufacture.

2.2.2 De(elo )ent in Electro !oretic Dis l#y'

In the +889s another type of electronic paper was invented by Cos ep h Cacobso n, who later &hil ips co- founded the E I nk orpora t io n which formed a partnership with ompo ne nts t wo years later to develop and market the technology. In /99;, &

hilips sold the electronic paper business as well as its related patents to &rime <iew International. This used tiny microcapsules filled with electrically charged white p art ic le s s uspended in colored oil. In early versions, the underlying c irc uitr y controlled whether the white particles were at the top of the capsule Dso it looked white to the viewerE or at the bottom of the capsule Dso the viewer saw the color of the oilE. This was essentially a reintroduction of the well- known e lec trop hor et ic d isplay technology, but the use of microcapsules allowed the display to be used on flexible plastic sheets instead of glass.

7ig-/./@ (asic "cheme of an Electrophoretic -isplay using color filters

One early version of electronic paper consists of a sheet of very small transparent capsules, each about 49 mic ro me ters across. Each capsule contains an oily solution containing black dye Dthe electronic inkE, with numerous white t ita nium d io xide particles suspended within. Dept. of Information Technology AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

The particles are slightly negative ly c har ged, and each one is naturally white. The microcapsules are held in a layer of li? uid po lymer, sandwiched between two arrays of electrodes, the upper of which is made transparent. The two arrays are aligned so that the sheet is divided into pixels, which each pixel corresponding to a pair of electrodes situated either side of the sheet. The sheet is laminated with transparent plastic for protection, resulting in an overall thickness of >9 micrometers, or twice that of ordinary paper. The network of electrodes is connected to display circuitry, which turns the electronic ink %on% and %off% at specific pixels by applying a voltage to specific pairs of electrodes. #pplying a negative charge to the surface electrode repels the particles to the bottom of local capsules, forcing the black dye to the surface and giving the pixel a black appearance. 'eversing the voltage has the opposite effect - the particles are forced from the surface, giving the pixel a white appearance. # more recent incarnation of this concept re?uires only one layer of electrodes benea th the microcapsules.

2.* Electro+ettin,
Electro-wetting display DE=-E is based on controlling the shape of a confined waterFoil interface by an applied voltage. =ith no voltage applied, the DcolouredE oil forms a flat film between the water and a hydrophobic Dwater-repellentE, insulating coating of an electrode, resulting in a coloured pixel.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology 7ig-/.2@ #ppearance of pixels seen from transparent electrode layer

>

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

=hen a voltage is applied between the electrode and the water, the interfacial tension between the water and the coating changes. #s a result the stacked state is no longer stable, causing the water to move the oil aside. This results in a partly transparent pixel, or, in case a reflective white surface is used under the switchable element, a white pixel. (ecause of the small siGe of the p ixel, the user only experiences the average reflection, which means that a high-brightness, highcontrast switchable element is obtained, which forms the basis of the reflective display. -isplays based on e lec tro- we tt ing have several attractive features. The

switching between white and coloured reflection is fast enough to display video content. It is a low-power and low- voltage technology, and displays based on the effect can be made flat and thin. The reflectivity and contrast are better or e?ual to those of other reflective display types and are approaching those of paper. In addition, the technology offers a uni?ue path toward high-brightness full-colour displays, leading to displays that are four times brighter than reflective ) -s and twice as bright as other emerging technologies. Instead of using red, green and blue D'0(E filters or alternating segments of the three primary colours, which effectively result in only one third of the display reflecting light in the desired colour, electro-wetting allows for a system in which one sub-pixel is able to switch two different colours independently. This results in the availability of two thirds of the display area to reflect light in any desired colour. This is achieved by building up a pixel with a stack of two independently controllable coloured oil films plus a colour filter.

2.Electro.l/i0ic
Elec tro fluid ic d isp la ys are a variation of an electrowetting display. Electrofluidic displays place an a?ueous pigment dispersion inside a tiny reservoir. The reservoir comprises H;-+9I of the viewable pixel area and therefore the pigment is substantially hidden from view. <oltage is used to electromechanically pull the pigment out of the reservoir and Dept. of Information Technology AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology +9 spread it as a film directly behind the viewing substrate. #s a result, the display takes on color and brightness similar to that of conventional pigments printed on paper. = hen voltage is removed li?uid surface tension causes the pigment dispersion to rapidly recoil into the

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

++

reservoir. #s reported in the :ay /998 Issue of ,ature & hotonics, the technology can potentially provide J>;I white state reflectance for electronic paper.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

+/

*. 1EY BENEFITS

E-&aper has numerous benefits. The reader does not need to get used to a new format reading an E-&aper e?uals reading a printed newspaper. .owever, E-&aper guarantees independency regarding room and time. E-&aper can be read everywhere in the world, at every hour, and since digital editions can also be received on & -#s and smart phones, mobility is almost limitless. #dditionally, E-&aper saves resources. On the one hand, paper and space are saved - because E-&aper does not pile up anywhere - on the other hand, valuable time is saved. " ince the complete pages are displayed on the & monitor, one instantly gets an overview over all headlines and thus gets to the relevant articles a lot faster !nlike conventional ) -% s and other kinds of reflective displays, an electronic ink display is exceptionally bright and is ready viewable under both bright and dim lighting conditions. To be more assertive we could compare electronic ink display with the latest li?uid crystal displays. Table 2.+@ omparison of E- ink K ) Electronic ink display =ide viewing angle (lack on paper white 'eadable in sunlight .olds image without power drain )egible under most lighting conditions &lastic or glass )ight =eight Thin DL+ mmE Dept. of Information Technology )i?uid rystal -isplays (est image only from one position 0ray on gray an be difficult to see 'e?uired power to hold images Often re?uires backlight 0lass only &ower supply and glass make ) -s relatively heavy Thick DL5 mmE AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

+2

*.1 "# er2li3e Re#0#$ility

&aper is easily readable over wide variations in lighting conditions and viewing angle. E Ink%s electronic ink technology approaches printed paper in performance by incorporating the same coloring pigments often used to make paper white and ink black. =hen reading text, both reflectance and contrast are important factors in determining the readability of a display. In fact, the contrast of E Ink is nearly twice that of printed newspaper. #s can be seen from its high reflectance and contrast the E Ink display is much more readable than ) -. The bright paper-white background of electronic ink eliminates the need for a backlight is most conditions.

*.2 Ultr#2Lo+ "o+er Cons/) tion

Electronic ink displays offer greatly reduced power consumption. )ower power consumption translates to longer battery life, and perhaps more importantly, the ability to use smaller batteries in electronic ink devices- reducing device weight and cost. The reason for the reduced power consumption offered by electronic ink displays is two- fold@ D+E they are completely reflective re?uiring no backlight and D/E they are inherently bi-stable for extended periods of time. Once an image is written on an electronic ink display, it will be retained without additional power input until the next image is written. .ence the power consumption of an electronic ink display will ultimately depend upon the fre?uency at which the displayed image is changed. .owever, in both cases, a reduction in power consumption by several orders of magnitude can be achieved by using electronic ink with its bi-stable imaging.

*.* T!in4 Li,!t For) F#ctor

#n electronic ink display module is thinner, lighter weight, and more robust than conventional ) -%s. These benefits are especially important in smart handheld applications where portability is paramount. 7 irst generation, electronic ink displays will be b ut by laminating electronic ink to a conventional glass T7 T substrate In addition, no polariGes are re?uired for electronic ink displays. The resulting electronic ink display cell Dept. of Information AWH Engineering Technology College

E-Paper Technology is also about half

+4

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

+;

that of a typical ) - cell. Elimination of the glass top sheet means that displays made with an electronic ink display module should be inherently more robust.

*.- T!e Ulti)#te 5o$ile Dis l#y Sol/tion

&aper-like viewing characteristics and appearance, combined with ultra- low power consumption and thin light form factors, make E ink%s electronic ink display material the ideal technology solution for information intensive, handheld devices such as & -#s, mobile phones and electronic readersM or any applications re?uiring a high degree of display legibility.

*.6 T+ist#$le
Electronic &aper is made using soft plastic containing small particles and fluid. #s there is no hard material, Electronic &aper is highly flexible and it is able to be twisted or bended into different curvatures. The Electronic &aper can be applied to different shapes of products, without being limited to being bonded to flat display panels. The end product becomes more imaginative in shape and style.

*.7 Si) le 5#n/.#ct/rin, "rocess

The manufacturing process is carried out using a roll- to-roll method, similar to printing paper, by in*ecting dielectric fluid and charged particles into the layer of capsules, and then sealing the top layer. The production is performed continuously at high speed. The Electronic &aper can be produced in a large for m and then cut into any desired siGe and shape for different application re?uirements.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

+3

-. HIGHLIGHTS OF ELECTRONIC IN1

Electronic ink moves information display to a new dynamic level, with dramatic benefits over traditional media. "uperior )ook - (ecause it%s made from the same basic materials as regular ink and paper, electronic ink retains the superior viewing characteristics of paper, including high contrast, wide viewing angle, and bright paper-white background. <ersatile - Electronic ink can be printed on almost any surface, from plastic to metal to paper. #nd it can be coated over large areas cheaply. )ow &ower - Electronic ink is a real power miser. It displays an image even when the power is turned off and it% s even legible in low light reducing the need for a backlight. This can significantly extend battery life for portable devices. "calable - E Ink%s electronic ink process is highly scalable, which makes it competitive against today% s older technologies.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

+5

6. DISAD8ANTAGES
Electronic paper technologies have a very low refresh rate comparing with other low- power display technologies, such as ) -. This prevents producers from implementing sophisticated interactive applications Dusing fast moving menus, mouse pointers or scroll ingE like those which are possible on ha nd he ld co mp ute rs. #n example of this limitation is that a document cannot be smoothly Goomed without either extreme blurring durin g the transition or a very slow Goom. #nother limitation is that an imprint of an image may be visible after refreshing parts of the screen. Those imprints are known as Bghost imagesB, and the effect is known as BghostingB. This effect is reminiscent of sc ree n bur n- in b ut, unlike it, is solved after the screen is refreshed several times. Turning every pixel white, then black, then white, helps normaliGe the contrast of the pixels. This is why several devices with this technology BflashB the entire screen white and black when loading a new image, in order to prevent ghosting from happening.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

+>

7. A""LICATIONS
Electronic &aper behaves similarly to conventional paper, a llowing high readability under low or high light conditions, and being thin and lightweight and fully pliable. In addition, Electronic &aper has the advantage of allowing the content to be changed easily at any time via the Electronic &aper driver I . Electronic &aper will provide a viable substitute to paper in certain areas. "ome examples of Electronic &aper applications are described below.

7.1 Electronic S!el. L#$el

In a large department store or supermarket, there are many price tag labels on the shelves indicating product price. =henever there is a change of price information, it is very tedious to change the price tags individually. (y replacing the paper price tag with Electronic &aper, the price information can be easily updated once the Electronic &aper price tags are connected via a wireless network.

7ig-3.+@ Electronic &aper used in &rice Tag #pplication

The Electronic &aper price tag re?uires no battery power to maintain display and prices can be updated using the energy from the '7 wave to change the image content.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

+8

7.2 Electronic 9#tc! #n0 Cloc3

=atch and clock designs can become more imaginative using Electronic &aper.

7ig-3./@ Electronic &aper =atch and (endable :odule

7or example, a watch using Electronic &aper will allow time and image to be displayed on the wrist strap of the watch.

7.* e2Boo3s
In /994 "o ny released )ibr iN E('- +999E& in Capan, the first e-book reader with an electronic paper display. In ,ovember /993, the i'e x i)iad was ready for the consumer market. In ,ovember /998 (arnes and ,oble launched the (a r nes K ,ob le ,ook, based on the #ndro id opera t ing s yste m. In late /995, #maGon began producing and marketing the #ma Go n 6 ind le, an ebook reader with an e-paper display.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

/9

7ig-3.2@ "ony e-(ook reader

7.- S)#rt C#r0 Dis l#y

Today, many credit cards contain a smart card to store information such as accumulated credit and money expenses etc. " ince Electronic &aper has the advantage of lower power consumption and is as flexible as the card, it offers a good solution to displaying this type of information on the card.

7.6 Ne+s # ers

In 7ebruary /993, the 7 le mis h daily -e Ti*d d istributed an electronic version of the paper to select subscribers in a limited marketing study, using a pre-release version of the i'e x i)iad. This was the first recorded application of electronic ink to newspaper publishing. In "eptember /995, the 7re nc h daily )e s Oc hos a nnounced the official launch of an electronic version of the paper on a subscription basis.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

/+

"ince Canuary /99>, the -utc h daily , ' i'e x i)iad reader.

.a nde lsb lad is distributed for the

7ig-3.4@ Electronic newspaper

7.7 "ro0/cts

Ot!er

E- Ink unveiled its first product using electronic ink- immediate large-area displaysin +888. These large signs draw only 9.+ watts of power, which means that the same power re?uired running a single +99-watt light bulb, could power +,999 immediate signs. E Ink said that in electronic devices, electronic ink would use ;9 to +99 t imes power than li?uid crystal displays because electronic ink only needs power when changing its display. Electronic ink can be printed on any surface, including walls, billboards, product labels and T-shirts. .omeowners could soon be able to instantly change their digital wallpaper by sending a signal to the electronic ink painted on their walls.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

//

:. THE FUTURE SCENARIO

The .oly 0rail of electronic ink technology is a digital book that can typeset itself and that readers could leaf through *ust as if it were made of regular paper. " uch a book could be programmed to display the text from a literary work and once you% ve finished that tale, you could automatically replace it by wirelessly downloading the latest book from a computer database. $erox had introduced plants to insert a memory device into the spine of the book, which would allow users to alternate between up to +9 books stored on the device. Cust as electronic ink could radically change the way we read books, it could change the way you receive yo ur daily newspaper. It could very well bring an end to newspaper delivery, as we know it. Instead of delivery people tossing the paper from their bike or out their car window, a new high- tech breed of paper deliverers who simply press a button on their computer that would simultaneously update thousands of electronic newspapers each morning. " ure, it would look and feel like your old paper, but you wouldn%t have to worry about the newsprint getting smudged on your fingers, and it would also eliminate the piles of old newspapers that need recycling. &rior to developing digital books and newspapers E-Ink will be developing a marketable electronic display screen for cell phones, &-#%s, pagers and digital watches.

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

/2

;. CONCLUSION
Electronic ink is not intended to diminish or do away with traditional displays. Instead electronic ink will initially co-exist with traditional paper and other display technologies. In the long run, electronic ink may have a multibillion-dollar impact on the publishing industr y. !ltimately electronic ink will permit almost any surface to become a display, bringing information out of the confines of traditional devices and into the world around us. .

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College

E-Paper Technology

/4

BIBLIOGRA"HY

P+Q

rowley, C. :.M " heridon, ,. 6.M 'omano, ). B-ipo le mo me nts o f gyr ico n ba lls B

Cournal of Electrostatics /99/, ;;, D2-4E, /45. P/Q omiskey, (.M #lbert, C. -.M 1oshiGawa, ..M Cacobson, C. B#n e lec trop ho ret ic ink fo r

a ll- pr inted re flect ive e le ctro nic d isp la ys B ,ature +88>, 284, D3389E, /;2-/;;. P2Q ht tp @F Fe n. wik ip ed ia.or gFwik iF ElectronicRpaper. P4Q (lankenbach 6, "chmoll #, (itman #, (artels 7 and Cero sch - /99> ,ovel highly reflective and bistable electrowetting displays " I- C. +3 /25S44. P;Q #ndersson, &.M , ilsson, -.M " vensson, &. O.M T.M 6ugler, T.M (erggren, :. hen, :.M :almstrTm, #.M 'emonen,

B#ct ive :a tr ix -isp la ys (ased o n #ll- Or ga nic

Elec troc he mica l "ma rt & ixe ls & r inted o n &aper B #dv :ater /99/, +4, D/9E, +439-+434. P3Q .uitema, .. E. #.M 0elinck, 0. ..M van der & utten, C. (. &. ..M 6ui*k, 6. E.M .art, :.M tra ns isto rs in act ive- matr ix d isp la ys B ,ature /99+, 4+4, D3>34E, ;88. .

antatore, E.M .erwig, &. T.M van (reemen, #. C. C. :.M de )eeuw, -. :. B& las t ic

Dept. of Information Technology

AWH Engineering College