Appliance Design - November 2007 - (Page 30)

DISPLAYS & INDICATORS Given that the color of the display is based on the color of the dye used, virtually any color display is achievable. Even with bright light shone upon it, the ColorMatch display exhibits high viewability. “In a typical mobile phone display, for example, the Liquavista display would consume only 10 percent the power that a comparably sized LCD would,” says Mark Gostick, CEO. “To put that in context, the display in a mobile phone consumes about 25 percent of the battery budget.” So the Liquavista screen significantly reduces the portion of the battery budget needed for the display. The reason is that the greater reflectivity of the Liquavista display makes it less dependent on backlighting. “An LCD has a backlight because it is not a good reflective technology,” Gostick says. He adds that the Liquavista technology also uses less power than emissive displays, both those that are in the field and under development. “Emissive displays are inherently power hungry,” he says. The mechanical properties of electrowetting displays are also noteworthy. One is that cell gap thickness, which can be as small as 25 microns, does not significantly affect optical performance of the display, because the electric field is applied across the insulator, not across the entire cell gap. This characteristic eliminates the need for a frame to fix the cell gap, allowing thinner modules. The insensitivity to cell gap thickness will also permit the technology to be compatible with flexible displays, minimizing distortion during bending. tronics products with this display should hit the market in the third quarter of 2008, according to Gostick. The ColorMatch is a monochromatic display so named because it exploits the technology’s ability to customize the color of the dye to virtually any color shade desired. The first products are simple segmented displays, with active-matrix versions to follow. Prototypes of the ColorMatch display were exhibited at the Society for Information Displays exhibition held in May in Long Beach, Calif. One of the prototypes shown was a watch with a simple, black-and-white segmented display to demonstrate the high level of contrast that is achievable. The company also showed a 6-in. active matrix version of ColorMatch to demonstrate the product’s read- ability and scalability. The ColorBright platform will add color filters to the ColorMatch architecture and use a black dye as an optical switch. This will allow the architecture to provide full color in similar fashion as an LCD, only with greatly improved brightness and color performance because it won’t need the standard optical enhancement layers found on color LCDs. The manufacturing process for the ColorBright display will be very similar to that of an LCD, which will allow the ColorBright displays to be manufactured on standard LCD production lines, keeping costs down. The technology will also employ standard active-matrix backplanes, driver ICs, and color filters. Amplitudemodulated gray scales will also Roadmap Liquavista will deploy its electrowetting display technology across three different product lines, each with a different time schedule. The ColorMatch display will be deployed first. Consumer elec30 applianceDESIGN November 2007 Water droplets on hydrophobic surface demonstrate electcrowetting concept. At left is droplet without voltage applied. At right, the droplet spreads out when a voltage difference is applied between the electrode in the water and a sub-surface electrode. www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - November 2007 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Today’s LEDs are Brighter and More Colorful than Previous Versions, Allowing Designers More Opportunities to Improve and Differentiate Their Products. When Converting from CCFL to LED Backlights in LCD Panels, New Driving Methods are Needed. Electrowetting Technology Allows Displays to be Designed in an Extensive Range of Colors. Noise Problems are Not Always Easy to Find or Fix, but Acoustic Labs Can Help Designers Ferret Out the “Good” Noise from the “Bad.” A New Sanitization Protocol for Clothes Washers Combines the Best of Three Well-Established Provisions to Ensure Efficiency, Quality and Safety. Stricter EMC Requirements Raise the Bar for Appliances with Electronic Controls and Require Testing to New Levels. Despite Added Cost and Complexity, Gas-Modulating Systems have Migrated from Large-Scale Boiler Applications to Smaller Residential and Commercial Furnaces and Appliances. A New Treatment Technology Hardens the Surface of Light Alloys such as Aluminum and Magnesium and Expands Their Potential Applications. DesignMart Advertiser’s Index Association Report: AHAM

Appliance Design - November 2007

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