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Tech Primer
Electronic Paper
What is e-paper?
 E-paper
or electronic paper was first developed by Nick Sheridon in 1970 at Xerox PARC.
The first e-paper named Gyricon consisted of millions of tiny, statically-charged
balls or beads that were black on one side and white on the other. Text is altered
in the presence of an electric field by moving the balls up and down. The paper
is fed through an electronic paper printer and voltage is applied on it and
the beads show black or white side. E-paper is a piece of paper on which the
data or matter can be re-written. The paper is made of organic electronics which
contain tiny balls that respond to electric charge. In 1990, RadioPaper was
developed by Joseph Jacobson. The paper was made of tiny micro-capsules filled
with electrically-charged white particles suspended in coloured oil. The technology
applied to an e-paper included modification of liquid crystal display, electro-chromic
display etc.
How does electrowetting help create fast, colour displays
for e-paper?
The technology of electrowetting controls the shape of a confined water or oil
interface by an applied voltage. When no voltage is applied, coloured oil is
formed between the water and a hydrophobic also called as water-repellent, an
insulate coating of an electrode, resulting in a coloured pixel. The small size
of the pixel shows an average reflection, which results in high-brightness,
high-contrast which forms the basis of a reflective display. Features based
on electrowetting are white and coloured reflections, fast-to-display video
content, low power consumption and low voltage technology.
What is e-Ink?
One of the key components of RadioPaper is e-Ink. It was first invented by Joseph
Jacobson. The ink does not require extra power to retain text or images and
can be controlled electronically. E-Ink consists of tiny capsules full of minute
particles of black and white pigment that are sensitive to electrical charges.
A negative charge causes white particles to move to the capsule’s surface
and a positive charge results in black particles moving up to form words and
pictures. When no charge is passed, the pigment stays in its place so that text
and graphics remain unchanged.
Fujitsu’s e-paper does not require electricity for continuous display,
it requires minimum power consumption when changing screen image that does not
require repetitive updates to be maintained. The screen does not flicker and
the film substrate employed is flexible and can be bent.
What are the advantages of e-paper?
Electronic paper has all the advantages of a newsprint. It offers the characteristics
of a conventional paper with the ability to electronically manipulate the information
displayed. It has excellent resolution, offers high contrast, is light, inexpensive
and flexible because it is made of plastic. It can be carried anywhere and there
is no need of external power to maintain the image. As it is reusable, it saves
trees. The development of e-paper has overcome the limitations of a computer
monitor i.e. backlighting of monitor is hard on the human eye whereas e-paper
reflects like a normal paper. Also, it is easier to read at an angle. One can
also download information wirelessly from the Internet.
Who are the vendors manufacturing e-paper?
Electronic paper vendors include Philips Electronics, Kent Displays, Niterre,
E-Ink and Sony.
www2.parc.com/hsl/projects/gyricon
—Garima Grover
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