Flexible electronic ink display using plastic transistors demonstrated
24 January 2001
News
E Ink Corporation and Lucent Technologies have demonstrated working prototypes of a flexible, paper-like electronic displays built on thin sheets of plastic. Produced just one year after the development project was announced, these devices prove that electronic ink, driven with printed plastic circuits, is a compelling design for electronic paper and other next-generation displays.
The prototypes consist of a 161 cm2 display area made up of several hundred pixels. The displays were constructed using two ground-breaking developments: E Ink's electronic ink, and Lucent's active-matrix drive circuits printed on plastic, which were developed by Bell Labs, Lucent's research and development unit.
Bell Labs says that the transistors in these circuits are made of plastic materials and are fabricated with a low-cost printing process that uses high-resolution rubber stamps. Their switching properties are similar to typical thin film transistors made with silicon and conventional fabrication methods, but they are mechanically flexible, rugged and lightweight. The electronic ink enables the display's paper-like qualities: extraordinary brightness and contrast under a wide range of lighting conditions; easy viewing from all angles; low power consumption; and plastic film construction.
According to the researchers, its contrast ratio of more than 10 to 1 exceeds that of newspapers, which typically have a contrast ratio of 8 to 1 or less. Because of its bistable and reflective nature and because it only needs to be powered during a switching cycle, the flexible display draws only one-tenth to one-thousandth the power of an LCD of equivalent size. The initial prototype can display both text and simple graphic images while being flexed.
See www.lucent.com or www.eink.com
Further reading:
SACEEC celebrates standout industrial innovation on the KITE 2025 show floor
News
Exhibitor innovation took the spotlight at the KITE 2025 as the South African Capital Equipment Export Council announced the winners of its prestigious New Product & Innovation Awards.
Read more...
SA team for International Olympiad in Informatics
News
The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa has named the team that will represent South Africa at this year’s International Olympiad in Informatics.
Read more...
Anritsu and Bluetest to support OTA measurement
News
Anritsu Company and Sweden-based Bluetest AB have jointly developed an Over-The-Air measurement solution to evaluate the performance of 5G IoT devices compliant with the RedCap specification.
Read more...
The current sentiment of the global electronics manufacturing supply chain
News
In its latest report, the Global Electronics Association provides an analysis of the current sentiment and conditions in the global electronics manufacturing supply chain as of June 2025.
Read more...
Global semiconductor sales increase in May
News
The Semiconductor Industry Association recently announced global semiconductor sales were $59,0 billion during the month of May 2025, an increase of 19,8%.
Read more...
New president for Avnet EMEA
News
Avnet has announced that Avnet Silica’s president, Gilles Beltran, will step into the role of president of Avnet EMEA.
Read more...
DARPA sets new record for wireless power beaming
News
In tests performed in New Mexico, the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay program team recorded over 800 W of power delivered for about 30 seconds with a laser beam crossing 8,6 kilometres.
Read more...
Nordic Semiconductor acquires Memfault
RF Design
News
With this acquisition, Nordic has launched its first complete chip-to-cloud platform for lifecycle management of connected products.
Read more...
Trina storage demonstrates high efficiency and long-term reliability
News
Independent testing confirms 95,2% DC efficiency and 98% capacity retention after one year of operation.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: AI – a double-edged sword
Technews Publishing
News
As with any powerful tool, AI presents challenges, some of which, if not carefully managed, threaten to undo the potential that it can offer.
Read more...
printer friendly version