E Ink Demos First Active-Matrix Electronic Ink

E Ink, a maker of electronic ink technology, says it 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.

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 says in a statement. The display prototype measures 12.1 inches diagonally with the resolution of a traditional laptop computer, the company says.

The new technology is expected to be available by mid-2003, E Ink says.

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, California, in June.

The new active-matrix electronic-ink display provides greater readability, uses less power and is thinner and lighter than traditional LCDs, LEDs, cathode ray tubes, and organic light emitting diodes, E Ink says. The technology will be 30 percent thinner and lighter than traditional LCD displays, the company says.

Among E Ink partners are IBM, Lucent Technologies, Motorola, Royal Philips Electronics, and Hearst.