ABSTRACT

E-paper is a revolutionary material that can be used to make next generation ;

electronic displays. It is portable reusable storage and display medium that look
like paper but can be repeatedly written one thousands of times. These displays
make the beginning of a new area for battery power information applications such
as cell phones, pagers, watches and hand-held computers etc.

Two companies are carrying our pioneering works in the field of

development of electronic ink and both have developed ingenious methods to
produce electronic ink. One is E-ink, a company based at Cambridge, in U.S.A.
The other company is Xerox doing research work at the Xerox's Palo Alto
Research Centre. Both technologies being developed commercially for
electronically configurable paper like displays rely on microscopic beads that
change color in response to the charges on nearby electrodes.

Like traditional paper, E-paper must be lightweight, flexible, glare free and
low cost. Research found that in just few years this technology could replace paper
in many situations and leading us ink a truly paperless world.

1. INTRODUCTION

Today's electronic displays have ever more evolved to be more lightweight,

efficient and clear. Yet the importance of the paper has not diminished. We still prefer
it to others for a variety of reasons including its readability, high contrast, convenient
handling, minimum power requirement cost and strainless reading it offers. At the
same time, an electronic display offers us a paperless environment and relieves us from
carrying loads of paper for referring to information when required.

Electronic ink is a pioneering invention that combines all the desired features of
a modern electronic display and the sheer convenience and physical versatility of sheet
of paper. E-paper or electronic paper is sometimes called radio paper or smart paper.
Paper would be perfect except for one obvious thing: printed words can't change. The
effort is to create a dynamic high-resolution electronic display that's thin and flexible
enough to become the next generation of paper.
 The technology has been identified and developed is well under way.
Within five years, it is envisioned electronic books that can display volumes of
information as easily as flipping a page and permanent newspapers that update
themselves daily via wireless broadcast. They deliver the readability of paper under
virtually any condition, without backlighting. And electronic ink displays are persistent
without power, drawing current only when they change, which means batteries can be
smaller and last longer.

Two companies are earning our pioneering works in the field of development of
electronic ink and both have developed ingenious methods to produce electronic ink.
One is E-ink. a company based at Cambridge, Massachusetts in U.S.A. The other is
Xerox doing reseaici. work at the Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. Big companies like
Philips, p^gain books, Motorola, The Hearst Corporation, and Atlas Venture axe ftidi-g
both. These are the companies who believe that electronic paper does have a f-V-re,
2. E-PAPER TECHNOLOGY

Electronic paper is also called as radio paper or smart paper or e-paper or electronic
ink, is a display technology designed to mimic the appearance of regular ink on paper.
Electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is capable of holding text and
images indefinitely without drawing electricity or using processor power, while allowing
the paper to be changed. One important feature needed is that the pixels be image
stable, so that the state of each pixel can be maintained without a constant supply of
power.

Electronic paper was developed in order to overcome some of the limitations of

computer monitors. For example, the backlighting of monitors is hard on the human
eye, whereas electronic paper reflects light just like normal paper. It is easier to read at
an angle than flat screen monitors. It is lightweight, durable, and highly flexible
compared to other display technologies, though it is not as flexible as paper.

Predicted future applications include e-paper books capable of storing digital versions
of many books, with only one book displayed on the pages at any one time.

It is a portable, reusable storage and display medium that looks like paper but
can be repeatedly written on electronic means -thousands or millions of times
 Figure 1

E paper consisted of two transparent layers containing oil with suspended

beads. The beads have different colored hemispheres; charged positively and negatively.
When a charge is applied to the sandwich, the beads rotate. Full rotation displays as
black or white and a partial rotation displays in gray shades. The image stays until a
new charge in applied.
3. ABOUT LUCENT TECHNOLOGY

The company E-ink has developed electronic ink and e-ink displays with the
collaboration of Lucent Technologies.

Electronic ink is a proprietary material that is processed into a film for

integration into electronic displays. Although revolutionary in concept, electronic ink is
a straightforward fusion of chemistry, physics and electronic to create this new
material. The principal components of electronic ink are millions of tiny microcapsules,
about the diameter of a human hair. In one incarnation, each microcapsule contains
positively charged particles of white titanium dioxide and negatively charged black or
blue liquid dye particle suspended in a clear solution that change color when exposed to
an electric charge. That is the charged dye particles move either up or down within the
capsules. When a negative charge is applied, the white particles move to the top of the
capsule where they become visible to the user.

Figure 2

This makes the surface appear white at the spot. At the same time an opposite
electric charge pulls the black or blue dye particles to the bottom. But reversing the
process, black/blue dye particles appear at the top of the capsule, which now makes the

Figure
3

surface dark at that spot.

Once the image is formed no power is required to keep the particle in position.
To form an E-ink electronic display, the ink is printed on to a sheet of plastic film that is
laminated to a layer of circuitry. The circuitry forms a pattern of pixels that can then be
controlled by a display driver. The display is made up of several layers and is
approximately 1mm in thickness.

These microcapsules are suspended in a liquid "carrier medium" allowing them

to be printed using existing screen-printing processes ink virtually any surface,
including glass, plastic, fabric and even paper. Ultimately electronic ink will permit
almost any surface to become a display, bringing information out of the confines of
traditional devices and into the world around us.
4. KEY BENEFITS
Unlike conventional LCD's and other kinds of reflective displays, an electronic
ink display is exceptionally bright and is ready viewable under both bright and dim
lighting conditions. To be more assertive we could compare electronic ink display with
the latest liquid crystal displays.

Table 1: Comparison of E-ink & LCD

Electronic ink display Liquid Crystal Displays

Wide viewing angle Best image only from one position
Black on paper white Gray on gray
Readable in sunlight Can be difficult to see
Holds image without power drain Required power to hold images
Legible under most lighting conditions Often requires backlight
Plastic or glass Glass only
Light Weight
Power supply and glass make LCDs
relatively heavy
Thin (~1 mm) Thick (~7 mm)

4.1 Paper-like Readability

Paper is easily readable over wide variations in lighting conditions and
viewing angle. E Ink's electronic ink technology approaches printed paper in
performance by incorporating the same coloring pigments often used to make paper
white and ink black.
When reading text, both reflectance and contrast are important factors in
determining the readability of a display. In fact, the contrast of E Ink is nearly twice
that of printed newspaper. As can be seen from its high reflectance and contrast the E
Ink display is much more readable than LCD.
The bright paper-white background of electronic ink eliminates the need for a
backlight is most conditions.
4.2 Ultra-Low Power Consumption

Electronic ink displays offer greatly reduced power consumption. Lower power
consumption translates to longer battery life, and perhaps more importantly, the ability
to use smaller batteries in electronic ink devices- reducing device weight and cost. The
reason for the reduced power consumption offered by electronic ink displays is two-
fold: (1) they are completely reflective requiring no backlight and (2) they are
inherently bi-stable for extended periods of time. Once an image is written on an
electronic ink display, it will be retained without additional power input until the next
image is written. Hence the power consumption of an electronic ink display will
ultimately depend upon the frequency at which the displayed image is changed.
However, in both cases, a reduction in power consumption by several orders of
magnitude can be achieved by using electronic ink with its bi-stable imaging.

4.3 Thin, Light Form Factor

An electronic ink display module is thinner, lighter weight, and more robust
than conventional LCD's. These benefits are especially important in smart handheld
applications where portability is paramount. First generation, electronic ink displays
will be but by laminating electronic ink to a conventional glass TFT substrate In
addition, no polarizes are required for electronic ink displays. The resulting electronic
ink display cell is also about half that of a typical LCD cell. Elimination of the glass top
sheet means that displays made with an electronic ink display module should be
inherently more robust.

4.4 The Ultimate Mobile Display Solution

Paper-like viewing characteristics and appearance, combined with ultra-low

power consumption and thin light form factors, make E ink's electronic ink display
material the ideal technology solution for irformation intensive, handheld devices such
as PDAs, mobile phones and electronic readers; or any applications requiring a high
degree of display legibility.
5. HIGHLIGHTS OF ELECTRONIC INK

Electronic ink moves information display to a new dynamic level, with dramatic
benefits over traditional media.

Superior Look- Because it's made from the same basic materials as regular ink and
paper, electronic ink retains the superior viewing characteristics of paper, including
high contrast, wide viewing angle, and bright paper-white background.

Versatile - Electronic ink can be printed on almost any surface, from plastic to metal to
paper. And it can be coated over large areas cheaply.
Low Power - Electronic ink is a real power miser. It displays an image even when the
power is turned off and it's even legible in low light reducing the need for a backlight.
This can significantly extend battery life for portable devices.

Scaleable - E Ink's electronic ink process is highly scaleable, which makes it competitive
against today's older technologies.
6. THE XEROX VIEW

The company Xerox is also working on a technology that could replace paper as
portable, renewable reading matter. Xerox in partnership with 3M, has created as E
paper called Gyricon. It's composed of a silicon rubber compound with the thickness
and flexibility of poster board. The Gyricon sheets contain thousands of plastic balls,
black on one side and white on the other, suspended in oil. The balls act as pixels to
display images that can be updated much the same way as with a monitor. The beads
are embedded in a large sheet, with each microcapsule suspended in oil to allow the
beads to rotate in their orbits.

Gyricon, like real paper, uses reflective light, so it would use less electricity. A
Gyricon book will eventually be connected with a wireless device that will enable a
reader to download content from the Internet. Xerox will also make the Gyricon
interactive, so a user could write on it and reuse it.
7. PROPERTIES

■ LTltra-thin and flexible energy cell

■ Costs a few cents; eliminates the cost of the battery and the weight and
volume of the battery holder.
■ Can be made into almost any shape, can be integrated on almost any surface
■ Low cost and simple to produce, using printing process
■ Environmentally friendly, non-caustic, no possibility of explosion, burns, or
overheating
■ Suited to a wide range of environments and challenging conditions of heat
and humidity

Power Characteristics
■ 1.5 V primary cell
8. APPLICATIONS USING E- Ink
8.1 Electronic Book

Each page has a common set of address electrodes connected to a single, chip-
based display driver in the spine of the book. Such connections may be made by means
of an isotropic conducting adhesive, as is prevalent in liquid crystal display technology.
A printer has been developed that is capable of printing, not only conducting lines, but
n-type (transistor) material, suitable for switching, directly onto the page display. Thus
each page has a unique strobe address line making that page active. Alternatively each
page may be given a unique page address.

8.2 The Single-Volume Library

A number of interesting applications are possible with such enabling technology.

The simplest and least expensive form of the book is basically that of a reversible
hardcopy medium. In this scenario no memory, battery, or input is present. In order to
download a book, a connection is made to an external computer. A transaction takes
place and a book interest is downloaded to be read as we might read any other book.

8.3 Other Products

E- Ink unveiled its first product using electronic ink-immediate large-area

displays- in 1999. These large signs draw only 0.1 watts of power, which means that the
same power required running a single 100-watt light bulb could power 1,000 immediate
signs. E Ink said that in electronic devices, electronic ink would use 50 to 100 times
power than liquid crystal displays because electronic ink only needs power when
changing its display. Electronic ink can be printed on any surface, including walls,
billboards, product labels and T-shirts. Homeowners could soon be able to instantly
change their digital wallpaper by sending a signal to the electronic ink painted on their
walls. .

9. ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRONIC PAPER

E-Paper has numerous advantages. The reader does not need to get used to a
new format - reading an E-Paper equals reading a printed newspaper. However, E-
Paper guarantees independency regarding room and time. E-Paper can be read
everywhere in the world, at every hour, and since digital editions can also be received
on PDAs and smart phones, mobility is almost limitless. Additionally, E-Paper saves
resources. On the one hand, paper and space are saved - because E-Paper does not pile
up anywhere - on the other hand, valuable time is saved. Since the complete pages are
displayed on the PC monitor, one instantly gets an overview over all headlines and thus
gets to the relevant articles a lot faster
10. THE FUTURE SCENARIO

The Holy Grail of electronic ink technology is a digital book that can typeset
itself and that readers could leaf through just as if it were made of regular paper. Such
a book could be programmed to display the text from a literary work and once you've
finished that tale, you could automatically replace it by wirelessly downloading the
latest book from a computer database. Xerox had introduced plants to insert a memory
device into the spine of the book, which would allow users to alternate between up to 10
books stored on the device. Just as electronic ink could radically change the way we
read books, it could change the way you receive your daily newspaper. It could very
well bring an end to newspaper delivery, as we know it. Instead of delivery people
tossing the paper from their bike or out their car window, a new high-tech breed of
paper deliverers who simply press a button on their computer that would
simultaneously update thousands of electronic newspapers each morning. Sure, it would
look and feel like your old paper, but you wouldn't have to worry about the newsprint
getting smudged on your fingers, and it would also eliminate the piles of old newspapers
that need recycling. Prior to developing digital books and newspapers E-Ink will be
developing a marketable electronic display screen for cell phones, PDA's, pagers and
digital watches.
11. CONCLUSION

Electronic ink is not intended to diminish or do away with traditional displays.

Instead electronic ink will initially co-exist with traditional paper and other display
technologies. In the long run, electronic ink may have a multibillion-dollar impact on
the publishing industry. Ultimately electronic ink will permit almost any surface to
become a display, bringing information out of the confines of traditional devices and
into the world around us.
 ology

12. REFERENCES

Electronics World, June 2002

www.howstuffworks.com
www.eink.com
www. gyricon media.com
www. parc.xerox.com

CONTENTS
Page No.

duction................................................................. 1

per Technology.................................................... 2

t Lucent Technology.......................................... 3

benefits.................................................................. 5

ights of electronic ink............................................ 7

Xerox view.......................................................... 8

erties..................................................................... 9

cations using E-ink............................................ 10

ntages of Electronic paper................................ 11

uture scenario................................................... 12

lusion.................................................................... 13

ences...................................................................... 14

Department of CSE SNGCE, Kolencherry

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