IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, VOL. ED-24, NO.

7, JULY, 1977 827

Electrophoretic Display Technology

ANDREW L. DALISA

Abstract-The electrophoretic image display (EPID) is apassive TRANSPARENTELECTRODE

display technique based upon the scattering and absorption of

-+ELECTRODE SEGMENT
ambient light. This paper will reviewthe present status of EPID
technology withemphasis on developments at PhilipsLaboratories. SUBSTRATE
The nature and requirements of the colloidal suspension Le., the
pigment particles suspended in a dyed nonaqueous liquid, that
constitutes the working medium of an EPID device will be dis-
cussed. A description of the optical, electrical,and hydrodynamic
characteristics of EPID devices will be presented. Fabrication
methods, device degradation modes, andthe statusof x-y addressing
techniques will be described.

I. INTRODUCTION 4
OBSERVER
COLOR OF

DYE 11 CHARGEDPIGMENT
PARTICLES ( - )

T H E electrophoretic imagedisplay
(EPID)
is
a passive display conceptbased upon the transportof
charged. pigment particles in acolloidal suspension. The
DYEDSUSPENDING
MEDIUM

charged pigment particles aretransported by means of an

appliedelectricfield; this phenomenon is commonly
known as electrophoresis.
Thefirst use of electrophoresis for recording or -ELECTRODE
SEGMENT

displaying information was the establishment of liquid I-- SPACER / S E A L

development processes for electrophotographic applica-
tions [l].In theseprocesses aplate containingan electro- , GLASS P L A T E

static c:harge image of the desired information is immersed
in a colloidal suspensionof charged toner particlesof op-
posite polarity.The toner particles aretransported to and
deposited on the charge pattern due to electrostatic at-
traction. The resulting image of toner particles was then
made permanentby a fixing process. The use of an elec-
trophoretic process as a reversible display techniquewas
first reported by Evans et al. [2]. In 1974, Ota e t al. [3]
described the implementation and preliminary charac-
teristics of an electrophoretic displaydevice that has be-
come known as EPID. Based upon this initial work and
that of others [4]-[6], the EPIDconcept is a promising new
passive display technique with distinctive appearance,
inherent memory, and low power consumption. Currently,
this technology is under investigation by several labora-
tories. This paper presents a review of the status of the
development of EPID technology.
11. THEELECTROPHORETIC IMAGEDISPLAY(EPID) packed on the front electrode, the color of the pigment will
CONCEPT
EPID is a passive display concept based upon electro-
phoresis in a highly,stable colloidal suspension. The col-
loidal suspension consistsof pigment particlesdispersed
Manuscript received December 9,1976;revised February 14,1977,and near Lambertian scatteringof the pigment, and thestrong
March 8, 1977.
The author is with the Philips Laboratories, Briarcliff Manor, NY absorption of the dyed liquid, EPID devices exhibit ex-
10510.
Fig. 1. Schematic of simple EPID cell.
in a dyed nonaqueous suspending liquid of contrasting
color. The pigment particles are submicron in size and
electrically charged to thesame polarity.
A simple EPID cell consists of a thin layer (-50 pm) of
colloidal suspension sandwichedbetween the transparent
electrode surfacesof two glass plates. Fig. 1shows a cross
section of a simplecell in which the particles are assumed
to be chargednegatively. Information can be displayed on
this cell by segmenting one of the transparentelectrodes,
using standardphotolithographictechniques. If one
electrode segment is connected to a voltage source of
positive polarity, and the other segment connected to a
voltage source of negative polarity, the pigment will be
driven to opposite sidesof the cell, as shown in the figure.
In the region of the cell in which the pigment has been
be seen by the observer. In theregion in which the pigment
is onthe rear electrode, the ambientroom light is absorbed
and scatteredby the dyed liquid and thecolor of the dye
is observed. By proper selection of the pigment anddye a
variety of color combinations arepossible, including black
and white. Due to the passive nature of the display, the
cellent contrast over a wide range of viewing angles and
828 IEEETRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRONDEVICES, JULY 1977
- .

ambient lightlevels. If the polarity of the applied voltages TABLE I

are reversed, the position of the pigment and henc? the
color tone will be reversed. For typical EPID deviceil, the Pigments

pigment can be transported across the cell in approxi- Organics Inorganics

mately 20 ms with 50 V applied to a cell that is 50 pm thick. Optical characteristics good excellent
Solubility (swelling excellent
The average current level during operationis less than 0.1 and softening)
fair-good

pA/cm2. In addition,when the applied voltage is removed, Surface charging fair-qood good
the pigment remains onthe electrodes, giving this dtwice Specific gravity excellent very poor
inherent memory. In the nextsection, a brief introduction Chemical stability good good
to thebasic nature of colloidal systems will be discutmed.
In Section IV, a description of the requirements and
TABLE I1

1
composition of EPID suspensions will be presented.

J-
ConcG-
111. THEELECTRICAL DOUBLE LAYER
IN COLLolDS Suspension DY-1 Material t r a t . i o n t t r t .%)
Solvents
Perchloroethylene/Xylen 78.3%/18.5%
Although a colloidal suspension is electrically neutral Pigmen t Dairylideyellow
on a macroscopic scale, microscopic
a picture would show (American Cyanimid)
Sudan
Red 4 B (GAE') 0.20%
the particles tohave a net charge on their surfaces, M hile
Stabilizer
OLOA-370
(Chevron)
the neighboring liquid has anet charge of opposite polmity
[7].The charges may arise in a variety of ways, e.g., by
adsorption of anionic or cationic surfactants; by dissccia-
major consideration inthe selection of a suspending liquid
tion of ionogenic groups on the particles surface; 0:'by
is that itcontributes tohigh electrophoretic mobility. The
preferential adsorption of ions present in the liquid. ':?his
electrophoretic mobility of a particle in a suspending liquid
surface chargeis balanced by an equal amountof c h r g e
is given by [7]
of opposite polarity in the liquid phase. Due to coulonhbic
forces, these counter ions are attracted to the surface of the p = c(/6.rrq. (1)
particles. However, since the ions in the liquid are subjact
Hence, liquids withthe highest t/v ratio should be chosen
to diffusion forces arising from their normal thermal:no-
for fast display operation. This choice must be consistent
tion, the distribution of the counter ions in the surrounding
with the other requirementson the suspending liquid, such
liquid is diffuse rather than sharp. The distribution of the
as wide temperature range, low toxicity, excellent chemical
surface and counter-ion charges is called the electrieal
stability, high specific gravity, chemical inertness, and high
double layer. The portion of the electrostatic potential that
appears between a shear plane near the surface of the
-
resistivity (>lo12 D cm).
The dye in thesuspension must beselected based upon
particle and the bulk of the liquid is termed the zetapo-
the following requirements: solubility in suspending liquid,
tential 5: The theoretical interpretation of all electrokimtic
chemical stability, chemical compatibility with suspension
effects incolloids is based upon this parameter; howeyrer,
constituents, andhigh optical densityat theportion of the
its measurement and interpretation in nonaqueous E ~ S -
optical spectrum reflectedby the pigment.
tems isvery difficult [SI.
The particles used in EPID devices can be either organic
or inorganic pigments. The general requirements on the
IV. THECOLLOIDAL SUSPENSION
selection of the pigments are: acceptable optical charac-
The colloidal suspension is the active and most crucial teristics (e.g., scattering power, color, opacity, etc.), inso-
part of an EPIDdevice. It consists of a suspending liquid, lubility in the liquids, little swelling or softening, allows
a soluble dye, stabilizing agents, and the submicron ~ i g - good surface charging, chemically stable, and a specific
ment particles. The composition of the suspension deter- gravity that can bematched by asuitable suspending liq-
mines to alarge degree the lifetime, contrast, andresponse uid. Table I shows how the organic and inorganic pigment
times of the device. In an ideal suspension the pigment generally compare for EPID applications.
would neither settlenor float in the suspending liquid i t . , The stabilizing agents usedin EPID suspensions are of
it would be sedimentationally stable. critical importance but theirinteractions withthe pigment
Secondly, the individually dispersed pigment particles surface, e.g., the charging mechanisms are very complex
would remain separate and not bunch together or itg- and very poorlyunderstood. In general, effective stabilizing
glomerate under all operating conditions. This require- materials for a given pigment are determinedby empirical
ment is called colloidal stability [9]. In addition, all the testing guided by the relative Bronsted acidityor basicity
constituents of the suspension must be chemically stakle; of the pigment surface and stabilizer. The role of the sta-
i.e., compatible with each other and with the other max- bilizer in producing an acceptable suspensionwill be dis-
rials that are present in the EPIDcell such aselectroc.es cussed in Section IV-B-1.
and seals. An example of a useful EPID suspension designated as
Some of the general considerations in the selection of DY-1, is shown in Table 11. In a simple two-electrode test
suitable suspension constituents are discussed below. A cell, DY-1 would haveatypical operatinglife of lo7
DISPLAY DALISA: E:LECTROPHORETIC 829

switches, toN and toFF of 30-40 ms a t a color contrast of erations and still continue to operate with satisfactory
98 using the 1964 CIE standard. DY-1 typically has 1011 appearance.
Q cm resistivity after switching.
C. Chemical Stability
A. Sedimentation Stability
It is necessarythat the EPID suspension exhibit ahigh
The most direct methodfor achievingsedimentational degree of chemical stability in quiesient well as as during
stability is to insure that the pigment and suspending operating conditions, Chemical reactions in the suspension
liquid have equalspecific gravities. This cangenerally be can adversely affect operating lifetime, response speed, and
accomplished by using a suspending liquid that is com- contrast. Therefore,the choice of the suspension materials
posed of two liquids, one of relatively high specific gravity must emphasize their chemical compatibility and general
and oneof lower specific gravity.The two aremixed such inertness. Areas of major concern are: solubility of pig-
that the resulting specific gravity matches that of the ments in the solvents, photo-or electrodegradation of the
partic1e;s. Although thismatchingcaningeneralbe dyes andlor pigment, electrode reactions, and, sincethe
achieved at only one temperature (e.g., room temperature), dyes and stabilizers aresurface-active materials, there is
the slight mismatchat other temperatures has not proved the possibility of antagonistic or competitive interactions.
to be a problem. In general, standard purification procedures are employed
to remove contamination (e.g., HzO)from all constituents.
B. Colloidal Stability In addition, thechemical structure of the dyes, pigments,
and stabilizers can be analyzed to determine and avoid
Colloidal suspensions are inherently unstable systems,
possible chemical problems.
since the large free-surface energyof a suspension is re-
duced when the particles bunch together,i.e., agglomerate.
D. Preparation of Suspensions
The attractiveforce between particlesthat is responsible
for agglomeration is called the London dispersion force. Suspensions are preparedby ballmilling in capped glass
Th.e term “dispersion force” is employed not because this vials, using stainless steel or ceramic grinding balls.The
force is present in colloidal dispersions but rather to in- procedure is to first dissolve the stabilizer in the sus-
dicate that itis related to thesame electron fluctuations pending liquid. The pigment is then added, and the mix-
that give rise to thedispersion of the index of refraction. ture is ballmilled for several hours. The ballmilling is used
1) Electrostatic Stabilization:To stabilize a colloidal to break upthe highly agglomerateddry pigment powder
system against agglomeration, a repulsiveforce between into individual particlesand allow the exposed surfaces to
particles must be developed to counteract the London interact with the stabilizer. The dye is then added and
dispersion force. The repulsive force can be provided by ballmilling is continued for an additional hour. Routine
charging the pigment particles to produce electrostatic testing of suspensions are done in simple test cells and
repulsion. Verwey and Overbeek [7] calculated the repul- measurements of the contrast, response times, conduc-
sive potential energy for two charged colloid particles tivity, switched charge, and lifetime are performed. The
surroulnded by theirdoublelayersandestablisheda lifetime is tested by applying a repetitive square-wave
quantitative theory of electrostatic stabilizationof colloid signal to the test cell at a frequencyof 12/ Hz. End of life is
systems. based on an evaluation of the cells’ appearance. This
The colloid stability requirements ona suspension for evaluation includesthe contrast,color uniformity, and the
an EPID device are extremely strenuous. Many suspen- distribution of pigment on the electrode. For simple test
sions which do not separate for many months in a test tube cells, the main degradationmechanisms are agglomeration
with no applied fieldwill be agglomerated by the electric and clustering. Agglomeration is first observed as a fine
field after just a few switching operations in an EPID granularity in the color of the cell, as shown in Fig. 2(b).
cell. This granularitybecomes more noticeable with continued
The difficulty of achieving stability in an EPIDcell can operation. Clustering as shown in Fig. 2(c) is generally a
be appreciatedby understanding that theoptical contrast more coarse redistribution of pigment that can form var-
of the (device isachieved by compressing the pigment onto ious complex pigment distributions and has been related
the electrode. Under the applied electric field, particles are to hydrodynamic instability inthe cell. Clustering will be
forced into close proximity and the probability of ag- discussed in more detail in SectionV-C.
gl.omeration is greatly increased. In addition, the particle
concentration onthe electrode is increased by as much as V. DEVICE CHARACTERISTICS
an order of magnitude over the concentration inthe bulk
A. Optical Characteristics
suspension, and it hasbeen found that thestability of the
suspension decreases rapidly as theparticle concentration There are three principal device parameters that de-
increases [lo] due to increased screening of the overlapped termine the contrast of an EPID device. The first such
doublelayers.However, even though the stabilityre- parameter is the composition of the suspension. Consider
quirements are strenuous, EPID suspensions have been a suspension that consists of clear fluid and dispersed
developed that can sustain more than 108 switching op- pigment. Without dye therewould, of course, be no con-
 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, JULY 1977

20 v 5v

0
5
a
5-
a
c 4L
In
a
3-
z
,o 2-

2 - 30
3-40
4 - 45
- 0 I I I 1 1 I I I /
2 4 6 8 1 0 2 4 6 8 1 0 2 4 6 8
D Y E CONCENTRATION ( m g l m l )
Fig. 3. Dependence of contrast ratio on the concentrationsof dye and
pigment in a typical EPID suspension, for three different operating
voltages.

;
4 5[

- 4 / E - I V/pm

I I I I I 4 I 1

25 50 75 100 125 I50 I75 200

CELL THICKNESS(pm1
Fig. 4. Contrast ratio versus thickness of EPID cell for a given sus-
pension a t applied electric fieldsof 1V/pm and 0.5 V/pm.

electrode is absorbed inthe layer of dyed liquid.However,

by decreasing the dye concentration and furtherincreasing
the cell thickness higher contrast would be available, since
Fig. 2. Photomicrograph in transmitted light of (a) a stable suspension, the brightness of the pigment onthe frontelectrode would
(b) a suspension inwhich agglomeration has begun, and (c) a suspen- improve.
sion exhibiting a typical cluster pattern (magnification= 40X).
The thirddevice parameter that determines the contrast
is the appliedelectric field. Consideran EPIDcell in the
ON state. Thebrightness of this cell for a given suspension
trast. As dye is added to the suspension, pigment on the composition and cell thickness is dependent upon the
rear electTode starts being obscured and the contras:; in- density of pigment particles onthe electrode. The effect
creases. A t a certain concentrationof dye the contrast will of the applied electric field which packs the pigmentlayer
peak and then begin to decrease asthe dye concentra;ion is shown in Fig. 5.
increases. The decrease starts when the opacity of the dye A distinctive feature of the EPID concept is its high
starts reducing the brightness of the ON state, i.e., pigncent contrast over a wide range of viewing angles. Fig. 6 shows
on the viewers side of cell, more than it improves the a comparison of the contrast merit factor[ll]for several
darkness of the OFF state, i.e., pigment onthe rear side of display media.An EPID device with a suspensionof white
the cell. Fig. 3 shows the dependence of the contrast r#ltiopigment and black dye greatly surpassesthe performance
on the concentrations of dye and pigmentfor three oiler- of the other media and approaches thatof black ink on
ating voltages. white paper as a passive display [5].Now consider a voltage
The second principal device parameter that determines pulse applied to thecell with the polarity, magnitude, and
the contrast is the cell thickness. Fig. 4 shows that for a duration necessary to transport and pack all the pigment
given suspension composition and applied electric fidd, onto the rearelectrode. Observationof the pigment layer
as the cell isincreased in thickness the contrastwould first through a microscope as itleaves the frontelectrode and
increase and then level off when essentially all the light moves through the dyed liquid, indicatesthat the side of
that enters the cell and scatters off the pigment on the xear the layer facing the observer recedes as a rathercontinuous
DALISAELECTROPHORETICDISPLAYTECHNOLOGY 83 1

0 I I I I
0 10 20 30 40
t(rns)
Fig. 7. Fit of fall time data with the theoretical model for applied
volt-
ages of 25 and 50 V.
I I I , J
IO 2030 40 50
APPLIED VOLTAGE ( VOLTS1 50 \/OLTS
Fig. 5. Brightness of pigment layer for
a typical suspensionas a function
of applied voltage.

~ l l l ~ l l l ~
0 40 80
msec
Fig. 8. Typical rise time of the optical signal from an EPID cell with
50-V pulse appliedto a 50-fim-thick cell.

The time necessary for the first few 1,ayersof pigment

to transit thecell is approximately
v) 10-

V I E W I N GA N G L E
Fig. 6. Contrast merit factor for several passive display media.From the slope of experimental data for t~ransit time
versus
voltage, the zeta potential can be determined. A typical
value is 90 mV.
sheet of pigment. A very simplified modelof the fall time The rise time for a typical cell is shown in Fig. 8. The
of the EPID cell, i.e., the time togo from ON to OFF, has brightness of the ON state is strongly affected by the
been developed [12] for a continuous sheet of scattering packing of the pigment, and the rise time shows a long
particles moving into anopaque liquid.It is assumed that saturation time that, is believed to be related to this
the ch;uge in this system resides on the pigment alone. The packing process. The side of the pigment layer that ap-
dyed liquid has an absorbtion coefficient a at the wave- proaches the observer is not a dense sh.eet, but a rather
length of the incident light (I)on the cell. From [12]the porous and diffuse distribution of pigment. For these
rise time and fall time are given by reasons it is expected that this simplified model will not

I& -
exp [ - 2 a ( ~- xz(t))]
be satisfactoryfortherisetime.Additional work on
(2) characterizing the dynamics of the pigment layer and the
-
1!-jkF exp [+a x z ( t ) ] . (3) packing process is necessary to describe this response.
Fig. 7 !3howsthe fitbetween the experimental data and the B. Electrical Characteristic
theory for VO= 25 and 50 V, L = 50 X cm, and a = 332
cm-l. The suspending liquidsemployed in the suspensions are
After the particles havemoved away from the electrode highly insulating, nonaqueous liquids.Aqueous liquids are
they travel a t a velocitygiven by not suitable due to the unavoidable hydrolysis at the
electrodes. In addition,highly insulating fluids arechosen
to reduce the parasitic currentwhich consumes power and
controls electrochemical reaction.
832 ELECTRON ON TRANSACTIONS IEEE DEVICES, JULY 1977

z
,050
SUSPEN S l O N
a
3
0
DY I -
0
n
,025 '

I I I I I 1 I
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
A P P L I E D VOLTAGE
Fig. 9. Current (dc) versus applied voltage for a typical EPID cell..

A typical electrophoretic suspension has a currenut-

voltage behavior that is essentially ohmic, as shown in Fig.
9. When the potential differenceacross a 50-pm-thickt w t
cell is 50 Vdc, the corresponding current density is abcut
0.10 pA/cm2, corresponding t o a suspension resistivityof
approximately 1011 cm. The switchedcharge (not i n -
cluding the parasitic current) for a typical suspensim
(DY-1) is about 0.1 pC/cm2. The typical capacitanceof a
simple EPID cell is approximately 240 pF for acell thick-
ness of 50 pm and an areaof 6 cm2.

C . Hydrodynamics
An important but somewhat unexpected result of thle
device-characterization work has been the emergence of
the role of hydrodynamic phenomenain the operation of
EPID devices.
1 ) Pigment Migration: The first hydrodynamic effcct
of importance is the redistributionof pigment after many
switching operations. The redistribution or pigment n ~ i - D. Device Construction and Reliability
gration first appears as a small area (several millimet;c!~rs
in size)of different color due to the local variation in the EPID test cells and prototype devices are fabricated
thickness of the pigment layer. The cause of this migration using commercially available indium oxide coated glass.
is the interaction of electrical and fluid forces onthe par- The requiremets on the seals of an EPIDcell are: 1) high
ticles in the EPIDcell. resistance to theorganic solvents inthe suspension (i.e.,
During the switching of an EPIDcell, the moving p4k- insoluble and littleor no swelling or softening); 2) chemi-
ticles set thefluid in motionand themoving fluid, in twm, cally inert; 3) electrically insulating; 4) low permeability
perturbs themotion of the particles. Hence, as the pigment to moisture or solvent vapor; 5) good tensile and shear
on a typical segment electrode is switched back and for%, strength. Initially, several types of epoxy sealswere eval-
the ensuing fluid motion will cause pigment to migr:.te uated with moderate success. At present, a proprietary
laterally until some particles move outside the boundar .es sealing techniqueis being employed which uses asheet of
of the segment electrode. These pigment particles accu- polymer material that simultaneously provides accurate
mulate in the surrounding background-electrode regi.m spacing and parallelism of the two glass plates, aswell as
of the cell where there may be no applied electric field orexcellent strength and hermeticity. The polymer sheet is
a constant electric field, and, in general, theywill not sandwiched between the glass plates, and theseal is formed
! b e -

turn to the segment. It is possible to greatly reduce pigmt:nt by applying moderateheat and pressurefor several min-
migration by switching the pigment on the segment and utes. The resulting seal has atensile strength of 4-5 kg/cm2
background electrodes suchthat thecolor tone is peric d- and a shear strengthof 30 kg/cm2. It can withstandboiling
ically reversed. Since all the pigment in the cell is set in water for over 500 h.No leaks have beendeveloped in cells
motion in this switching mode, the pigment distributim that have been subjectedto a temperature rangeof -50"
DA.LISA ELECTROPHORETICDISPLAYTECHNOLOGY 833

to -tlOOaC, as well as to repetitive thermal shocks (0'- TABLE I11

100OC). These cellshavedrilledfillholessealedwith Characteristics of EPID Displays

7
Teflon balls and epoxy. Appearance : excellentcontrastoververywide
Principal failure modes for EPID devices include: ag- viewing angles.
glomeration, clustering, pigment migration, leaks, and Color Capability : many color combinations including
electrochemicaI effects(e.g., hydrolysis, bleachingof dye, black/white.

etc.), In simple,two-electrode test cells, agglomerationis Speed : approximately 20 msec at 50 volts

the primary failure mode, while in practical devices the Lifetime : > lo8 switches or 8500 hours

primary failure modeis pigment migration. Currently,the Voltage : 15-50 volts

operatilng lifetime of simple EPID devices has reachedlos Power conswnpS1on : < 5 pw/cm2
switches and they arestill. in operation.It is expected that Memory : = 100 hrs.
this will be extended tolo9 switches. For practical devices Matrix Addressing: Con-krol a r r d +e&,
(numerics, etc.), the operating life can be about5 X lo7, 3 u( UHdrr dcqc1oprnm-k;
TTL or CMOS compatible and addres-
and substantial improvement is expected be to possible. sing at 1 msec/l.ine
Up to the present,only limited testsof environmental Resolution : with a b o g c addressing scheme: = 5 Isn*5/nrn
effectshavebeenperformed. A preliminaryresult of Temperature : operation -1OoC-70"C, Storage: - 4 0 ° C
temperature testing indicates that a storage temperature - 1oooc
range of -40' t o 100°C forEPID cells with DY-1is prac- Size : very flexible ( < 1 inch2 - > 100 ft2)

tical. The operating temperature range is believed to be cost : expected to be low cost; l o w materials
-10" to 100°C(with littlenoticeablechangein the cost and simple fabrication.
switching speed). Althoughno forma! vibration tests have
been performed, preliminary tests well as as practical ex-
perience has indicated that thepigment is not dislodged
from thLe electrodes due to normal vibration and shocks. trode [5].Preliminary results indicatethat a sharp,well-
defined threshold in the switching ofa.n EPID cell is
achieved, which could enable the x-yaddressing of very
large matrix arrays (e.g,,2000 X 2000 elements). The ad-
VI. X - Y ADDRESSING dressing of the matrix can be achieved using TTL or
For rnultidigit or alphanumeric displays, the required CMOS logic; once addressed, the particles are transported
number of electrical leads can seriously increase the cost across the cell with a dcvoltage of approximately 50 V. The
and reducethe reliability of the device. A standard method line-to-line addressing time can be less than 1ms. Further
for reducingthe numberof leads and interconnections for development of this controlgrid technique is beingactively
display techniques that exhibit voltage
a threshold is to pursued, and itis believed that itwill provide a practical
sandwitch the display medium between orthogonally ar- and effective method forx-yaddressing EPID devices. A
ranged row and column electrodes. However,the optical detailed paper describing these results will soon be pub-
response of a standard EPID device doesnot have a voltage lished.
threshold.
One solution to this problem would be to develop an VII. APPLICATIONS
EPID suspension which exhibits such a threshold. Inves- The display applications for EPID technology can be
tigation of a wide variety of surface active materials has
assessed by considering the expected device characteristics
resulted in a class of stabilizers that do indeed possess
as shown in Table 111.
threshold properties [15]. At present, it appearsthat these
suspeneions have significantly poorer operating lifetimes
VIII. CONCLUSIONS
than standard suspensions.
Although desirable,a switching threshold is not neces- The EPID is a highly promising passive display tech-
sary for x-y addressing an EPID display. A novel tech- nology. It possesses a distinctive appearance, practical
nique, called Multilevel Voltage Selective Addressing, has response times, inherent memory, and lolw cost of fabri-
been developed [16] that employs eight voltage levels, si- cation. Thistechnology is young in comparison to LCD's
multaneously addresses all row and column leads of a or LED's, and much work remains to be done in charac-
standard 5 X 7 alphanumeric character, and requiresno terization and understandingof the device as well as in its
threshold properties in the suspension or in the device. development towards a successful product. However, the
This technique hasbeen implemented in a simple alpha- present stateof EPID development indicates that in ad-
numeric display and an EPID bar graph, but it is not dition to its desirable display characteristics, this display
considered suitable for large matrix arrays. technique will provide practical operating lifetimes and
Recently a more effective x-y addressing technique has permit x-yaddressing with low-voltagelogic. With these
been demonstrated in prototype devices. This technique features and capabilities, wide a range of potential appli-
is baseld upon the implementation of a control-grid elec- cations can be considered. These range from simple bi-
834
stable status indicators tolarge-scale (e.g,, 2000 X 2UOO-
element) x-y addressed panels capable of displaying apage
of textual information.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authorwishes to thankB. Fitzhenry, R. Lieberl: P. ~
Murau, S. Quon, and B. Singer for their helpful discus-
sions; J. Jacco, A. Monahan, andR. White for their ex1:el-
lent technical assistance; and J. Kostelec for his sup-
port.
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I. Ota, J. Ohnishi, and M. Yoshiyama, “Electrophoretic dis day
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON
DEVICES, JULY 1977
Display, San Diego, CA, 1974.
[6] D. Vance, “Influence of material properties on optical characteristics
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