Electrophoretic Display
An electrophoretic display (also known as electronic ink display) is an electronic display based on the phenomenon of electrophoresis to mimic the appearance ordinary ink on paper. Negatively and positively charged pigment particles stored in microcapsules form images by applying a positive or negative electric field. Images are still visible after all power sources have been removed, because the display only consumes power whenever the image changes. However, so-called active displays are refreshed at a given rate. Just like an ordinary book or newspaper, there is no need for a backlight as the surface of an electrophoretic display reflects ambient light back to the user.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Factoring in low power consumption, print-like readability and minimal thickness and weight, electrophoretic display technology can be used for the development of novel display shapes such as curved screens, foldable tablets or highly flexible, bendible surfaces. Note that color electrophoretic displays (e.g. Mirasol-Display, MIP-Display or electrowetting displays) currently suffer from performance issues. The low refresh rate and is also disadvantageous for devices that have high degree of user interactivity.
Applications and Examples
Electrophoretic display technology gained popularity from the introduction of electronic ink by E Ink Corporation. Other applications that featured the display technology include e-readers such (e.g. Amazon Kindle or Kobo eReader Touch), smartwatches (e.g. Pebble), cell phones or electronic price tags.
PaperTab is a flexible, high-resolution and interactive paper tablet that looks and feels just like a sheet of paper.