Samsung Exhibits Bend-resistant Flexible E-paper

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd exhibited a flexible color electronic paper display that uses carbon nanotubes (CNT) for the common electrodes at FPD International 2008.

The 14.3-inch display is 0.3mm thick and has a resolution of 1060 x 750.

The company employed CNT to prevent the performance degradation of the electrodes after the flexible e-paper is repeatedly bent. The resistance of existing transparent electrodes made of IZO and other materials increases after the display is repeatedly bent. On the other hand, the resistance of the CNT-based transparent electrodes "hardly increases even after the display is bent 100 times," a Samsung staffer said.

The CNT transparent electrode, which was developed based on Unidym Inc's technology, has a transmittance of 90% or higher and a conductivity of 1,700S/cm, according to the company.

For the drive circuit, Samsung used an amorphous Si TFT that was formed on a plastic substrate by utilizing a low temperature growth process below 130°C. The company combined the drive circuit with E Ink Corp's e-paper film.

The display has a reflectivity of 40%, a contrast ratio of 10:1 and a color gamut of 5% NTSC.

Amazon.com will unveil the Kindle in october

The New York Times reported that in October, the online retailer Amazon.com will unveil the Kindle, an electronic book reader that has been the subject of industry speculation for a year, according to several people who have tried the device and are familiar with Amazon’s plans. The Kindle will be priced at $400 to $500 and will wirelessly connect to an e-book store on Amazon’s site.

That is a significant advance over older e-book devices, which must be connected to a computer to download books or articles.


Hopes for e-books began to revive last year with the introduction of the widely marketed Sony Reader. Sony will not say how many it has sold, but the Reader has apparently done well enough that Sony recently increased its advertising for the device in several major American cities.

“Digital readers are not a replacement for a print book; they are a replacement for a stack of print books,” said Ron Hawkins, vice president for portable reader systems at Sony. “That is where we see people, on the go, in the subway and in airports, with our device.”

Amazon has been showing the Kindle to book publishers for the last year and has delayed its introduction several times. Last fall, a photograph of the device, and some of its specifications, leaked onto the Web when the company filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to get approval for its wireless modem, which will operate over a high-speed EVDO network.

Several people who have seen the Kindle say this is where the device’s central innovation lies — in its ability to download books and periodicals, and browse the Web, without connecting to a computer. They also say Amazon will pack some free offerings onto the device, like reference books, and offer customers a choice of subscriptions to feeds from major newspapers like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the French newspaper Le Monde.

The device also has a keyboard, so its users can take notes when reading or navigate the Web to look something up. A scroll wheel and a progress indicator next to the main screen, will help users navigate Web pages and texts on the device.

People familiar with the Kindle also have a few complaints. The device has a Web browser, but using it is a poor experience, because the Kindle’s screen, also from E Ink, does not display animation or color.

Some also complain about the fact that Amazon is using a proprietary e-book format from Mobipocket, a French company that Amazon bought in 2005, instead of supporting the open e-book standard backed by most major publishers and high-tech companies like Adobe. That means owners of other digital book devices, like the Sony Reader, will not be able to use books purchased on Amazon.com.

Nevertheless, many publishing executives see Amazon’s entrance into the e-book world as a major test for the long-held notion that books and newspapers may one day be consumed on a digital device.

“This is not your grandfather’s e-book,” said one publishing executive who did not want to be named because Amazon makes its partners sign nondisclosure agreements. “If these guys can’t make it work, I see no hope.”

E-paper products shown at SID

"LONG BEACH, Calif. — Electronic paper seems to be coming of age. E Ink Corp. exhibited a slew of recently launched products at the Society for Information Display conference here this week. The Cambridge, Mass., company also showed flexible-display prototypes from half a dozen E Ink customers, signaling a rapid advancement in flexible displays across the industry in the past year.

Meanwhile, Nemoptic, another e-paper contender, talked about its first-generation product for electronic shelf labels for grocery stores, a $10 billion market. Also at SID, Nemoptic is launching its A4 e-paper display for application in business and government offices and point-of-sale displays. The company has already shipped samples to major office equipment suppliers.

Notable "world firsts" using E Ink technologies included a flexible, color 14-inch electronic-paper panel from LG.Philips LCD on steel foil and the biggest-ever glass monochrome electronic-paper panel — 40 inches on the diagonal — from Samsung Electronics.

E Ink also announced that a research breakthrough in its ink chemistry has achieved video-switching speeds for the first time. "Our research team is demonstrating here an ultrabright ink that is approaching 50 percent reflectance of ambient light, compared to 35 percent in shipping monochrome products," said Michael McCreary, vice president of research and advanced development at E Ink.

Samsung Electronics demonstrated a 40-inch display using E Ink's Vizplex technology, which consumes 300 milliwatts at one frame per minute, or 1/500 the power consumption of a conventional LCD. Such a display using electronic ink would be appropriate for digital signage and office information applications, according to E Ink.

One of he most popular e-books incorporating E Ink displays is Arinc's eFlyBook, the General Aviation eReader used by commercial pilots to look up airport takeoff-and-landing approaches.

Six segments
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Jacques Noels, CEO and president of the management board of Nemoptic, has defined six strategic segments with differentiated features and display sizes for his company's BiNem technology. They range from 1 x 3-inch electronic shelf labels to e-books, newspapers, albums and larger (10- to 14-inch) displays for the education and professional markets.

Nemoptic, headquartered near Paris with a production unit in Sweden, is applying its bistable nematic technology to LCDs. Display content remains on view without using any power thanks to the technology's internal-memory effect.

Nemoptic has signed on with Seiko Instruments Inc. for high-volume manufacturing of its bistable LCDs at Seiko's Microtechno plant in Akita, Japan. The first units are expected to roll out at the end of the second quarter. The Seiko plant has a worldwide reputation as one of the most modern sites for high-volume production of color supertwisted-nematic liquid-crystal displays."

VIA

First 14.1 Inch Color ePaper Display

LG Philips LCD has announced developing the world's first 14.1-inch flexible color electronic paper or e-paper display, according to reports.

The company claims that this product, which showcases the next generation in display technology, is equivalent in size to an A4 sheet of paper, and can be rolled up as well.

The innovation uses electronic ink to produce a maximum of 4,096 colors. It can be viewed from a full 180 degrees. Thus, the company says, images when viewed on this 14.1-inch flexible color e-paper always appear to be crisp, even when the display is bent.

Like the Black and White e-paper that LG Philips introduced last year, the color version too uses a substrate that arranges TFT on metal foil rather than glass, which allows it to regain original shape upon bending.

The color e-paper also uses a color filter (CF) that is coated into the plastic substrate, allowing it to display color images.

Besides, according to LG Philips, the newly developed e-paper displays are energy efficient, and only use power when the image changes. They are really thin, measuring less than 300 micrometers.

In a statement, Chung In-Jae, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President, LG Philips, expressed the view that these color e-paper displays represent the next generation in display technology.

via techtree

E Ink 2007 Global Mobile Awards winner

BARCELONA (3GSM World Congress) - February 16, 2007 - E Ink Corporation announced today that two products featuring its industry-leading electronic paper display technology received top honors at the GSM Association's 2007 Global Mobile Awards. The awards celebrate the highest achievements in the mobile communications industry. Polymer Vision received the Most Innovative Technology Award for its unique rollable display. Motorola won the Best Ultra Low Cost Handset Award for it MOTOFONE F3 GSM mobile phone.

"These global awards are the latest recognition of the cutting edge products now reaching consumers with E Ink's electronic paper displays," said Russ Wilcox, president and CEO of E Ink. "Our technology is bright, ultra low-power and paper-thin. This is a leap forward for anyone who wants to view information on a portable device."

Polymer Vision was honored for developing a GSM mobile phone with a foldable display, putting a big display into a small handset for the ultimate in convenience. Polymer Vision's displays are powered by E Ink's High Resolution electronic paper displays. The displays are bistable, meaning they only use power when an image is changed, so the Readius device can support the increased display size without sacrificing on long battery life. The foldable design of the Readius was achieved using Polymer Vision's plastic electronics technology and should appeal to both gadget and fashion lovers.

Motorola's MOTOFONE F3 re-establishes expectations over how a value-priced handset looks and feels and what it delivers. The handset's large, high contrast screen, powered by an E Ink Segmented Display is readable in direct sunlight, making it practical to use the phone outdoors. Additionally, the display is plastic, lightweight and ultra-low power, making it ideal for mobile and power sensitive applications by eliminating the weight and breakability of glass used in traditional LCD displays. This is the second award the MOTOFONE has received recently as it was named one of CNET's five coolest things at CES 2007 in January.

E Ink's technology has received many other accolades and awards. E Ink received a "Best of Small Tech Award" from Small Times because it, "successfully ushered the technology out of the lab and into real-world applications." E Ink also received a "Gold Display Component of the Year Award" from the Society for Information Display (SID), "for its substantial innovation in the science and technology of electronic paper display technology."