What is Electronic Paper?
Electronic paper is an enhanced form of display technology provides a look that is very much like that of conventional paper. Sometimes referred to as e-paper, the electronic paper display will exhibit some of the qualities of a good grade of white paper, including the reflection of light off the surface. In addition, the combination of electronic paper and electronic ink will allow text and images to be written onto the surface, and hold the script and images for an indefinite period of time. The origins of electronic paper can be traced back to the 1970’s, with the creation of a product known as gyricon. Polyethylene spheres were sandwiched between two thin layer of plastic. The top sheet was white and charged with positive particles, while the backing sheet was black and charged with negative particles. As a result, it was possible to apply pressure to enter text and create images on the substance. However, the application only worked well with black text and black and white images.
Electronic paper is also known as e-paper and is a technology designed to imitate the look and style of ordinary ink and paper. E-paper reflects light just as ordinary paper does, unlike the usual flat-panel display that is lit with a backlight to illuminate pixels. Electronic paper was first developed in the 1970s by Nick Sheridon at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center. The first electronic paper, called Gyricon, consisted of polyethylene spheres between 20 and 100 micrometres across. E-paper comprises two different parts: the first is electronic ink, sometimes referred to as the “frontplane”; and the second is the electronics required to generate the pattern of text and images on the e-ink page, called the “backplane”. Several different technologies are involved in the production of e-paper, some use plastic substrate and electronics to make the display flexible, this makes it more comfortable to read that traditional displays and gives it a stable image, so you don’t have to refresh i
Unlike LCD, LED, or CRT display system, electronic paper technology attempts to achieve the clarity, contrast, and ease of viewing of normal paper on an electronic display. The technology behind electronic paper is thirty years old; it was developed at Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center). Nicholas K. Sheridon of Xerox PARC created a new display technology known as Gyricon (Greek for ‘rotating image’), which became the basis of the modern e-paper technology. The ideal modern electronic paper should have high contrast like normal paper and low power consumption; it should be thin and light as well. The electronic paper display (EPD) is so light that it can be folded or curled, while still retaining the image. Also, the EPD should not lose the image even if power supply is not available. These concepts were used in the production of such products as Fabric PC from Fujitsu, which is a notebook computer utilizing electronic paper display; it is very lightweight and not easily damaged. El
