Review Paper: A critical review of the present and future prospects for electronic paper

Abstract— The commercial success of monochrome electronic paper (e‐Paper) is now propelling the development of next‐generation flexible, video, and color e‐Paper products. Unlike the early battles in the 1980s and 1990s between transmissive and emissive display technologies, there is a extraordinary diversity of technologies vying to become the next generation of e‐Paper. A critical review of all major e‐Paper technologies, including a technical breakdown of the performance limitations based on device physics and commentary on possible future breakthroughs, is presented. In addition, the visual requirements for color e‐Paper are provided and compared to standards used in conventional print. It is concluded that researchers have much work remaining in order to bridge the significant gap between reflective electronic displays and print‐on‐paper.

[1]  R. Sprague,et al.  Gyricon electric paper , 1998 .

[2]  Tim Koch,et al.  Novel flexible reflective color media with electronic inks , 2010 .

[3]  J Heikenfeld,et al.  Laplace barriers for electrowetting thresholding and virtual fluid confinement. , 2010, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[4]  Xiaojia Wang,et al.  48.5: Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing Process for Full Color Electrophoretic Film , 2006 .

[5]  Jack Hou,et al.  20.1: Microcup® Active and Passive Matrix Electrophoretic Displays by Roll‐to‐Roll Manufacturing Processes , 2003 .

[6]  Paul Drzaic,et al.  12.1: 12.1′ SVGA Microencapsulated Electrophoretic Active Matrix Display for Information Appliances , 2001 .

[7]  Seung-Eun Lee,et al.  40.1: Invited Paper: Dyed Polymeric Microparticles for Colour Rendering in Electrophoretic Displays , 2010 .

[8]  Ryo Sakurai,et al.  A Flexible electronic‐paper display with an ultra‐thin and flexible LSI driver using quick‐response liquid‐powder technology , 2008 .

[9]  B. Liang,et al.  Transflective TFT‐LCDs with high optical performance , 2007 .

[10]  Willem den Boer,et al.  Active matrix liquid crystal displays , 2005 .

[11]  Reiji Hattori,et al.  20.3: Novel Type of Bistable Reflective Display using Quick Response Liquid Powder , 2003 .

[12]  Leonardo D. Bonifacio,et al.  Photonic‐Crystal Display Materials , 2011 .

[13]  Asad Khan,et al.  P-171: A Flexible Touch-Sensitive Writing Tablet , 2008 .

[14]  B. J. Feenstra,et al.  Video-speed electronic paper based on electrowetting , 2003, Nature.

[15]  Anders Hagfeldt,et al.  Electrochemical aspects of display technology based on nanostructured titanium dioxide with attached viologen chromophores , 2008 .

[16]  Gerrit Oversluizen,et al.  Optical performance of in‐plane electrophoretic color e‐paper , 2010 .

[17]  Y. Nakai,et al.  Color Design and Adjustment of Dichroic Dyes for Reflective Three-Layered Guest-Host Liquid Crystal Displays , 2005 .

[18]  Thomas Lloyd Credelle,et al.  Development of the PenTile Matrix™ color AMLCD subpixel architecture and rendering algorithms , 2003 .

[19]  G. Mondio,et al.  The optical properties of , 1996 .

[20]  Wen-Chung Kao.  Electrophoretic Display Controller Integrated With Real-Time Halftoning and Partial Region Update , 2010, Journal of Display Technology.

[21]  Karl R. Amundson,et al.  68.1: Invited Paper: Achieving Graytone Images in a Microencapsulated Electrophoretic Display , 2006 .

[22]  M. Hutley,et al.  The Optical Properties of 'Moth Eye' Antireflection Surfaces , 1982 .

[23]  Tetsuya Higuchi,et al.  A high-speed passive-matrix electrochromic display using a mesoporous TiO2 electrode with vertical porosity. , 2010, Angewandte Chemie.

[24]  R. Street.  Thin‐Film Transistors , 2009 .

[25]  A. Yasuda,et al.  Improvement of dichroic polymer dispersed liquid crystal performance using lift-off technique , 2006 .

[26]  P. Drzaic.  Recent progress in dichroic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal materials , 1996 .

[27]  D. Coates.  53.1: Invited Paper: Recent Advances in Tiled Cholesteric Billboard Displays , 2008 .

[28]  Karlheinz Blankenbach,et al.  Novel highly reflective and bistable electrowetting displays , 2008 .

[29]  Kaichang Zhou,et al.  33.3: Flexible Electrofluidic Displays Using Brilliantly Colored Pigments , 2010 .

[30]  Joo-Young Kim,et al.  40.3: 4.8 inch QVGA Color Reflective AM-PDLCD Driven by Printed OFETs , 2010 .

[31]  Andrea Giraldo,et al.  68.3: Gray Scales for Video Applications on Electrowetting Displays , 2006 .

[32]  Sally A. Swanson,et al.  5.2: High Performance Electrophoretic Displays , 2000 .

[33]  Satoru Kubota,et al.  Measurement of light incident on mobile displays in various environments , 2006 .

[34]  Ryo Sakurai,et al.  A reflective-display QR-LPD® , 2006 .

[35]  G. Ozin,et al.  Photonic crystal display materials , 2010, 2010 IEEE Photinic Society's 23rd Annual Meeting.

[36]  Jong Min Kim,et al.  P‐167: 4.5″ Electrochromic Display with Passive Matrix Driving , 2008 .

[37]  Ryo Sakurai,et al.  68.2: Color and Flexible Electronic Paper Display using QR‐LPD® Technology , 2006 .

[38]  J. W. Doane,et al.  Control of reflectivity and bistability in displays using cholesteric liquid crystals , 1994 .

[39]  Cliff Jones,et al.  P‐120: Optimizing the Zenithal Bistable Display , 2009 .

[40]  G. Durand,et al.  Fast bistable nematic display using monostable surface switching , 1997 .

[41]  Alex Henzen,et al.  High‐quality images on electrophoretic displays , 2006 .

[42]  Alex Henzen.  5.1: Invited Paper: Development of E-Paper Color Display Technologies , 2009 .

[43]  Hans Peter Herzig,et al.  Improved red color with cholesteric liquid crystals in Bragg reflection mode , 2002 .

[44]  U. Steiner,et al.  Nanophase-separated polymer films as high-performance antireflection coatings , 1999, Science.

[45]  Daihyun Kim,et al.  Quasi‐Amorphous Colloidal Structures for Electrically Tunable Full‐Color Photonic Pixels with Angle‐Independency , 2010, Advanced materials.

[46]  Michael E. Becker.  11.2: Standards and Metrology for Reflective LCDs , 2002 .

[47]  Gerwin H. Gelinck,et al.  A rollable, organic electrophoretic QVGA display with field‐shielded pixel architecture , 2006 .

[48]  Asad Khan,et al.  4.2: Flexible Electronic Skin Display , 2009 .

[49]  Y. Ohno.  CIE Fundamentals for Color Measurements , 2000, NIP & Digital Fabrication Conference.

[50]  B. Tang,et al.  P‐195L: Late‐News Poster: Ultra‐Low Drive Voltage Bistable Reflective Liquid Crystal Display in Flexible Format , 2010 .

[51]  André C. Arsenault,et al.  Photonic-crystal full-colour displays , 2007 .

[52]  V. Rich.  Personal communication , 1989, Nature.

[53]  F. P. M. Budzelaar,et al.  Novel concept for full-color electronic paper , 2009 .

[54]  R. J. Schwartz,et al.  Electrofluidic displays using Young-Laplace transposition of brilliant pigment dispersions , 2009 .

[55]  Paul Drzaic,et al.  Liquid Crystal Dispersions , 1995 .

[56]  Asad Khan,et al.  Multiple color high resolution reflective cholesteric liquid crystal displays , 1999 .

[57]  Lu Chi-Ming,et al.  26.3: High Integration and Functionality Controller for Active Matrix Electrophoretic Display , 2010 .

[58]  M. E. Becker.  Standards and Metrology for Reflective LCDs , 2002 .

[59]  Ernst Lueder.  Liquid Crystal Displays: Addressing Schemes and Electro-Optical Effects , 2001 .

[60]  Irina Shiyanovskaya,et al.  Single‐substrate encapsulated cholesteric LCDs: Coatable, drapable, and foldable , 2006 .

[61]  Takashi Satoh,et al.  29.1: Polarizer-Free Reflective LCD Combined with Ultra Low-Power Driving Technology , 2009 .

[62]  I. Ota,et al.  Electrophoretic image display (EPID) panel , 1973 .

[63]  Paul S. Drzaic,et al.  Nematic droplet/polymer films for high-contrast coloured reflective displays , 1991 .

[64]  E. Kishi.  Development of In-Plane EPD , 2000 .

[65]  Sang Yoon Lee,et al.  4.8″ QVGA electrochromic displays driven by oxide TFTs , 2010, 2010 IEEE Photinic Society's 23rd Annual Meeting.

[66]  Y. Jin,et al.  40.4: The Research of Various Mode Color PDLC Structures for Flexible Reflective Display , 2010 .

[67]  S.-T. Wu,et al.  Novel Color-Sequential Transflective Liquid Crystal Displays , 2007, Journal of Display Technology.

[68]  Manjeet Dhindsa,et al.  Ion and liquid dependent dielectric failure in electrowetting systems. , 2009, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[69]  J. W. Doane,et al.  The transient response and dynamic drive of cholesteric liquid‐crystal displays , 1997 .

[70]  M. E. Becker,et al.  21.1: Electro‐optical Characterization of Reflective LCDs , 2001 .

[71]  M. Okajima,et al.  A reflective tri‐layered guest‐host color TFT‐LCD , 1999 .

[72]  Thomas M. Higgins,et al.  Silver Nanowire Networks as Flexible, Transparent, Conducting Films: Extremely High DC to Optical Conductivity Ratios. , 2009, ACS nano.

[73]  J. Jacobson,et al.  An electrophoretic ink for all-printed reflective electronic displays , 1998, Nature.

[74]  Yasuhisa Itoh,et al.  80.3: Distinguished Paper: Ultra‐Low‐Reflective 60‐in. LCD with Uniform Moth‐Eye Surface for Digital Signage , 2010 .

[75]  Xin Jiang,et al.  Guest Editorial Special Issue on Transparent Electronics , 2009 .

[76]  Holly G. Gates,et al.  10.2: Towards Video‐rate Microencapsulated Dual‐Particle Electrophoretic Displays , 2004 .

[77]  Cliff Jones,et al.  15.4: Invited Paper: Low Cost Zenithal Bistable Display with Improved White State , 2010 .

[78]  D. Coates,et al.  P‐106: Psychophysical Perception Enhancement of Red Cholesteric Liquid Crystal to Improve the Total Performance of a Full Color Outdoor Cholesteric Display , 2003 .

[79]  Tim Koch,et al.  69.4: Novel flexible reflective color media integrated with transparent oxide TFT backplane , 2010 .

[80]  J. C. Jones,et al.  LP‐L: Late‐News Poster: Novel Configuration of the Zenithal Bistable Nematic Liquid‐Crystal Device , 1998 .

[81]  William J. Cummings.  63.1: Invited Paper: The Impact of Materials and System Design Choices on Reflective Display Quality for Mobile Device Applications , 2010 .

[82]  Robert W. Zehner,et al.  53.2: Power Consumption of micro-encapsulated Display for Smart Handheld Applications , 2002 .

[83]  Luminescent enhancement of reflective displays , 2010, 2010 IEEE Photinic Society's 23rd Annual Meeting.

[84]  David Coates,et al.  Low‐Power Large‐Area Cholesteric Displays , 2009 .

[85]  Reiji Hattori,et al.  A novel bistable reflective display using quick‐response liquid powder , 2004 .

[86]  T. Ishinabe,et al.  Reflective Liquid-Crystal Displays , 2002 .

[87]  J. W. Doane,et al.  Polymer dispersed liquid crystals for display application , 1988 .

[88]  R. Mortimer,et al.  New Electrochromic Materials , 2002, Science progress.

[89]  J. Yeo,et al.  Roll-to-roll manufacturing of electronic skins with print-like color , 2009 .

[90]  Jason Heikenfeld,et al.  High reflectivity electrofluidic pixels with zero-power grayscale operation , 2010 .

[91]  Shin-Tson Wu,et al.  Transflective liquid crystal displays , 2010, Journal of Display Technology.

[92]  Sheehan.  SPIE Photonics West , 2009 .

[93]  Liangbing Hu,et al.  37.4: Late‐News Paper: Integration of Carbon Nanotube Transparent Electrodes into Display Applications , 2008 .

[94]  J. Bullivant,et al.  Best of the best. , 1992, The Health service journal.

[95]  M. W. Miles.  A new reflective FPD technology using interferometric modulation , 1997 .

[96]  Jason Heikenfeld,et al.  A full description of a simple and scalable fabrication process for electrowetting displays , 2009 .

[97]  Lu Chi-Ming,et al.  P‐103: Performance Active Matrix Micro‐Cup Electrophoretic Display , 2009 .

[98]  Yoshihisa Kurosaki,et al.  40.2: Application and Effects of Orientation Control Technology in Electronic Paper Using Cholesteric Liquid Crystals , 2010 .

[99]  Steve Fotios,et al.  Measuring Colour , 2013 .

[100]  Hiroshi Matsuda,et al.  5.1: Development of In‐Plane EPD , 2000 .

[101]  Udo Bach,et al.  Nanomaterials‐Based Electrochromics for Paper‐Quality Displays , 2002 .

[102]  Asad Khan,et al.  6.1: Invited Paper: Recent Progress in Color Flexible Reflective Cholesteric Displays , 2007 .

[103]  A.L. Dalisa,et al.  Matrix addressed electrophoretic displays , 1977, 1977 International Electron Devices Meeting.

[104]  John A. Rogers,et al.  12.3: Flexible, Active‐Matrix Display Constructed Using a Microencapsulated Electrophoretic Material and an Organic‐Semiconductor‐Based Backplane , 2001 .

[105]  T. Scheffer,et al.  15.3: Optical Optimization of the SinglePolarizer BiNem Display for eReading Applications , 2010 .

[106]  Kevin L. Denis,et al.  12.2: A Conformable Electronic Ink Display using a Foil‐Based a‐Si TFT Array , 2001 .

[107]  John Penczek,et al.  Display daylight ambient contrast measurement methods and daylight readability , 2006 .

[108]  Kohsuke Nishimura,et al.  P-47: Novel Evaluation Method for Visibility of Reflective Electronic Paper Display by Comparative Examination with Liquid Crystal Display , 2008 .

[109]  Tim Koch,et al.  Reflective electronic media with print-like color , 2010 .

[110]  M. E. Becker,et al.  Electro-optical Characterization of Reflective LCDs , 2001 .

[111]  P. Gennes,et al.  The physics of liquid crystals , 1974 .

[112]  Woon-Seop Choi,et al.  Improving the electro‐optical properties of bistable reflective cholesteric liquid crystal displays , 2005 .

[113]  A. Bouchard,et al.  68.5L: Late‐News Paper: Advances in Active‐Matrix Color Displays Using Electrophoretic Ink and Color Filters , 2006 .

[114]  Du-Sik Park,et al.  Generating vivid colors on red-green-blue-white electonic-paper display. , 2008, Applied optics.

[115]  J. William Doane,et al.  Transient dielectric study of bistable reflective cholesteric displays and design of rapid drive scheme , 1995 .

[116]  Jennifer Gille,et al.  P‐46: Optimization of Subpixel Color Tiles for Mobile Displays , 2008 .