Appliance Design - May 2008 - (Page 20)

DISPLAYS & INDICATORS White and black particles move within a fluid when subjected to a specific charge. Negative moves the white particles to the top, rendering the pixel white. A positive charge reverses the position, rendering the pixel black. ber of manufacturers are starting to creep up. Still, electronic paper has only a handful of key players, the best known is E Ink. The company offers the E Ink Vizplex Imaging Film and the film can be used in a range of full display sizes or in segmented display applications. It is produced using the electrophoretic process and is sold for use in a whole host of applications. E Ink was the first to offer the e-paper in mass quantities and to well-known customers for use on the Kindle e-book as well as the Sony Reader. Other applications include wristwatches, weather alert devices, eNewspapers, Web browsers like the Polymer Vision Readius, cell phones like the Motofone, memory indicators like the Lexar USB drive, an automotive key fob like the Delphi bidirectional key fob, point-of-purchase devices, outdoor signage, and more. E Ink has developed agreements with a number of companies such as Prime View International, Samsung and Epson. Recently, LG Display introduced a 14.3-in. flexible color display at the January 2008 CES show. In addition, Polymer Vision, a spin-off of Philips Electronics, announced plans to massproduce a “rollable” display device, Readius, which is aimed at cell phone applications. SiPix also uses electrophoretic technology to make its e-paper. The company, which started with a focus on two main areas – smart cards and shelf displays – now find its technologies used in a range of products from high-resolution displays to consumer devices such as clocks, watches, and board games. Another player that will be able to produce the e-paper material in high volume is France-based Nemoptic, which uses a different approach to developing e-paper. Nemoptic’s product is called BiNem and is a variant of LCD technology. The bi means that it is bistable, and nematic means that it uses nematic liquid crystal materials. Nemoptic is one of the first company’s to use LCDs and achieve bistability, says Jacques Noels, CEO of Nemoptic. The company has subcontracted the manufacturing of its BiNem e-paper technology to Japan-based Seiko Instruments Inc., which has the technology to produce the material in high volumes, which will help to keep costs down as is critical to e-paper’s continued growth, says Noels. The technology is suitable for electronic shelf labels, point–of-purchase systems, home automation, and handheld devices such as e-books smart cards, and mobile phones. As can be seen, different types of technologies are used to make e-paper. Electrophoretic and LCD are two of the most often used. An electrophoretic display forms images by rearranging charged pigment particles using an applied electric field. The solid particles Telecom Italia and Polymer Vision developed the “cellular-book,” a mobile device with rollable display. The display is made with E Ink’s e-paper. 20 applianceDESIGN May 2008 www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - May 2008 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch New and Notable Displays & Indicators Elastomers Quality & Standards Indoor Air Quality IHHS Highlights New Products Classifieds Design Marts Advertiser’s Index Association Report: PSMA

Appliance Design - May 2008

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