Abstract— Rolls of flexible displays or electronic paper have recently been prepared by a high‐speed roll‐to‐roll manufacturing process based on SiPix's novel Microcup® and top‐sealing technologies. Both Microcup® electrophoretic displays (EPDs) and LCDs have been demonstrated. The display rolls are format flexible and may be cut into desirable size and shape for a variety of applications. High‐performance flexible passive‐matrix Microcup® EPDs having a wide range of threshold voltages have also been demonstrated.
The world's first mass production three-particle electrophoretic display has been launched. E Ink Spectra TM displays utilize black, white and red engineered particles in a colorless solvent to achieve red plus black/white independent optical states without a color filter array. The three types of particles have different properties and are well controlled so they respond differently to various electric fields. The Spectra electrophoretic ink is filled and then sealed in a thin film Microcup® structure using a roll to roll process and the output imaging film can be easily cut to any shape and size and then laminated to TFT or segmented backplanes to form display modules.
We report the process development work on roll‐to‐roll fabrication of EPD film that enables the making of full color EPD display. Through the incorporation of inkjet printing process, Microcup® web can be printed with colored fluids to form designated color pattern at sub pixel level. Existing roll‐to‐roll Microcup® EPD manufacturing process can be modified to accommodate the printing step and the processes can be coordinated in such to prevent the mixing of different colored fluids during web processing.
A four‐particle electrophoretic display (EPD), Spectra™ 3100, was released in 2021. It targets electronic shelf label applications and signage applications by providing four primary optical states of black, white, red, and yellow, as well as dithering capability to show graphic images. Specially engineered black, white, red, and yellow particles in the electrophoretic ink respond to different electric fields to show pigment intrinsic colors on the display. The imaging film produced from this technology can reach a typical contrast ratio of 30:1 while maintaining a maximum driving voltage of ±15 V. The vibrant red and yellow colors are ideal for highlighting. Consistent optical performances are achieved for all four optical states across the operating temperature range of 0°C to 40°C for a typical indoor environment. The electrophoretic ink is coated and sealed in a thin‐film Microcup® structure using an additive and high yield roll‐to‐roll manufacturing process to produce the imaging film. Active matrix (AM) module integration follows the conventional EPD module production process of lamination between the imaging film and thin‐film transistor (TFT) backplane.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.