Electrofluidic ePaper

We are all familiar with eInk technology that is used in the Kindle, Sony Reader, Iliad and many more devices. The technology has a number of limitations the most noticeable is colour followed by it slow refresh speed. eInk uses electrophoretic display to effectively arrange white and black titanium dioxide particles within the millions of capsules that comprise the e-reader's screen. The technology only reflects 40% ambient light and to add colour requires filters which will make it even dimmer.

Fujitsu FLEPia device can display 260,000 colours in high definition, but at a premium costs of $1,000 compared to the black-and-white readers that retail around $350.

Now a team of engineers at University of Cincinnati's Novel Devices Laboratory have developed a new prototype electronic paper that can rapidly reveal or hide enough pigments to form 1,000 different colours and published their findings in Nature Photonics.

The electrofluidic display (EFD) uses voltage to pull water-based spots of coloured ink and spread them over the pixels, which are coated with highly reflective aluminium. The research paper has been. The pixels also switch between black and white within one millisecond, making the technology suitable for video. When voltage is removed the ink returns to the reservoir in the centre of the pixel, and the screen goes blank. The pixels are as small as 100 micrometers wide, giving the display a resolution higher than many e-readers on the market.

Importantly. EFD offers the same E Ink's technology benefits in reflecting light instead of emitting it, making them easier to view in bright sunlight and more power efficient than LCDs. Today it can reflect about 55% of ambient light, but the goal is to create a screen that equals white paper in reflecting 85% of available light.

The researchers plan to develop products and commercialize the technology through Gamma Dynamics, Polymer Vision and Sun Chemical.