Umesh R. D. presented a seminar on E ink at the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering at KLE CET Chikkodi. The seminar discussed the history, working, types, applications and future of E ink. E ink was invented in 1996 at MIT and uses microcapsules of charged pigments to display text without using power. It is used in e-readers, watches, signs and other devices due to its low power consumption and ability to be read in sunlight. E ink has advantages over LCD but limitations in displaying colors and video. Future applications are expected in homes, mobile devices, and education.
3. What is E ink???
E Ink is the creator of
electrophoretic or electronic ink.
Electronic ink is actually a
straightforward fusion of
chemistry, physics and electronics.
It's so much like paper.
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4. History
Research started at the MIT Media Lab in 1996.
Joseph Jacobson and Barrett Comiskey
• invented E ink in 1996.
On June 1, 2009, E Ink Corp. Purchased technology by
• one of its primary business partners, Prime View Int'l Co. Ltd
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5. Types of E ink
1-E Ink Pearl - July 2010
2- E-ink Mobius- 2010
3-E Ink Triton- November 2010
4-E Ink Carta- January 2013
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8. WORKING
A millions of cell particles are present in a display of any
device
E-ink is made up of millions of tiny microcapsules that are
suspended in liquid placed within a film-like layer.
The liquid is present in b/w both the pigments(black and
white)
Applying a –ve electrical field causes then the white
pigments (+ve) to come to the surface
As same as when a +ve electric field causes then the black
pigments (-ve) will come to the surface
Applying different fields at various parts of a screen, E Ink
can produce a text display
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9. Comparison of e-paper & lcd
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Electronic Ink Display Liquid Crystal Display
Wide viewing angle Best image only from one position
Readable in sunlight Can be difficult to see in sunlight
Holds image without power drain Required power to hold images
Plastic or glass Glass only
Light Weight Power supply and glass make LCDs
relatively heavy
Thin (~1 mm) Thick (~7 mm)
10. Supply Voltage: 2.7—3.3 V DC
Power Consumption:
Active update peak: 1800
mW
Active update typical: 750
mW
Standby typical: 1 mW
Mechanical / Dimensional for 6" Display:
Electrical specifications:
This analysis done for E ink triton.
Power consumption
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11. Construction of E-paper
It has two different parts.
– Front plane.
– Back plane.
The front plane consist of E-ink.
The back plane consist of electronic circuits.
Back plane is made up of organic thin film transistor arrays which
provide voltage needed by the E-Paper.
To form an E-ink electronic display the ink is printed onto a plastic
film that is laminated to a layer of circuitry.
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12. The front plane consist of E-ink.
E-ink is made up of millions of tiny
microcapsules.
Microcapsules have diameter of the order
of 100 microns.
Each microcapsule contains positively
charged white particles and negatively
charged black particles suspended in a
clear fluid .
When a positive or negative electric field
is applied, corresponding particles move
to the top of the microcapsule where they
become visible to the viewer. This makes
the surface appear white or black at that
spot.
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Front plane
E-ink 2-pigment system
14. Each E-ink capsule contains an oily solution containing black dye
(the electronic ink), with numerous white titanium dioxide particles
suspended within these capsules are dispersed in a hydrocarbon oil in
which dark-colored dye and charging agents are also added.
Capsule diameter is 40 micrometer.
Gap between the two conducting plates is of the order of 100
micrometers and the mixture is placed between these plates.
When a voltage is applied across the two plates, the particles will
migrate electrophoretically to the plate bearing the opposite charge
from that on the particles.
Electrophoretic display
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15. When the particles are located at the front (viewing) side of the
display, it appears white, because light is scattered back to the
viewer by the high refractive -index titania particles.
When the particles are located at the rear side of the display, it
appears dark, because the incident light is absorbed by the
colored dye.
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16. Applications
Wristwatches
e-Book reader
eg: Amazon kindle.
Electronic Shelf Label
In a large department store or supermarket, e-paper can be used for labeling the
shelves and price tagging.
Electronic Billboards
Status displays
Digital Photo Frames
Mobile phones
E-Newspaper
Time Table at Stations
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17. Applications
E Readers
E Ink Active Matrix displays
deliver the best reading
experience with the highest
contrast and longest battery
life for eReaders.
Indicators
• E Ink Segmented displays
enable engineers and
designers to add high
contrast displays where
power and space limitations
have made it impossible.
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18. Applications
Watches
It inspire innovative designs
and shapes using the lowest
power requirements and
added durability.
Keypads
• E Ink Segmented displays
make it possible to offer
breakthrough designs such
as dynamic keypads.
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19. Applications
Cell Phones
E Ink Segmented displays
make it possible to offer
lowest power solutions
with superior readability
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20. Advantages
Bi-stable
Reduces the power consumption
No refreshment
Reflective display
Ambient light from the environment
Better response in sunlight over LCD and LED
display.
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21. Disadvantages
inability to display more colors and video
Very slow zoom
Ghost images
Don't have backlighting
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23. Future
At Home
Whether cooking
with new recipes
or keeping
track of prescriptions,
E Ink technology has
many uses inside the home.
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24. Future
On the Go
Add high contrast displays
with direct sunlight readability
where power or space limitations
have made it impossible to do
so before.
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25. Future
• Education
E ink display platforms
inspire innovative
designs that bring
classrooms to life.
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26. Conclusion
It uses electrophoretic technology.
Invented by Joseph Jacobson and Barrett Comiskey
• in MIT Media Lab in 1996.
Objects are displayed on the different moves of pigments.
It is being used in mobile phones, watches, indicators etc.
E ink having some disadvantages but advantages are more
important and useful.
Having a broad future.
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27. References
Flexible and Roll-able Displays/Electronic Paper A Brief Technology Overview Rong-
Chang (R.C.) Liang
Paper Electronics and Electronic Paper
• by Magnus Berggren*'**, Thomas Kugler*'**, Tommi Remonen*, David
Nilsson**,Miaoxiang Chen**, Petronella Norberg"*The Research
Institute ACRE0 AB, Bredgatan 34, SE-602 21 Norrkoping, Sweden
**Organic Electronics Group, Campus Norrkoping, SE-601 74, Sweden
E-paper: Clarifying future R&D needs by a fundamental understanding of the
maximum performance of current technologies
• Author(s): Heikenfeld, J.
Novel Devices Lab., Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/portable-devices/lighter-brighter-
displays
Image taken from: http://www.eink.com/technology.html
• http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B007RF5F0Q/ref=famstripe_kp3
MIT Media Laboratory. http://www.media.mit.edu/micromedia
(January2001). — Perry Romanowski
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper
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