E INK, A maker of electronic ink technology, is one step closer to the creation of an active-matrix version of paper-like electronic ink displays that could be used in cellular phones, PDAs, and reader devices, the company, in Cambridge, Mass., said Tuesday.

   ADVERTISEMENT
  

Free IT resource

Virtualization Insights from Top Experts - Learn how virtualization gets real!

Sponsored by Dell

Free IT resource

Try Sun servers, workstations and storage products free for 60-days.

Sponsored by Sun Microsystems

RELATED LINKS
»  Taiwan group expects PRAM chips in three years
»  DRAM price falls 25 percent
»  Sun delivers first UltraSparc T2-based servers
»  Hardware RSS feed 

IDG ENTERPRISE NETWORK
• More Desktops News...  (ComputerWorld)
• Juniper enhances routers for IP TV  (ComputerWorld)

TOP NEWS 


IT SOLUTION SEARCH
Engineers at the company have demonstrated what E Ink claims is the first active-matrix electronic ink display that is capable of producing high-resolution illustrations and text, E Ink said in a statement. The display prototype is 12.1 inches diagonally with the resolution of a traditional laptop computer, the company said.

The new technology is expected to be available by mid-2003, the company said.

In developing the active-matrix screen, E Ink researchers created a new version of electronic ink that changes 10 times faster than the company's current version. The company is currently not disclosing how it made the ink change faster, according to a spokeswoman for E Ink.

Electronic ink is similar to regular ink, but it contains millions of microcapsules. Each capsule contains a mixture of dye pigment and pigment chips. The capsules respond to electronic charges.

IBM Research provided some of the electronics used in the company's laptop displays for E Ink's research prototype. E Ink engineers, starting with the active matrix from the IBM laptop, added electronic ink and modified the circuitry to develop a working display. IBM and E Ink will deliver a paper describing the display prototype at the Society for Information Display Conference in San Jose, Calif., in June.

The new active-matrix electronic ink display provides greater readability, uses less power, and is thinner and lighter than traditional LCDs, CRTs, LEDs, and OLEDs, E Ink said. The technology will be 30 percent thinner and lighter than traditional LCD displays, the company said.

E Ink has partners such as IBM, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Royal Philips Electronics, and Hearst.