e-Paper
Electronic paper, also called e-Paper, is a display technology designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike a conventional displays which use a backlight to illuminate its pixels, electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is capable of holding text and images indefinitely without drawing power from the battery, while allowing the image to be changed later.
e-Paper is considered more comfortable to read than conventional displays. This is due to the no – flicker stable image, which does not need to be refreshed constantly, the wider viewing angle, and the fact that it uses reflected ambient light.
The foremost current technology for e-Paper is used in the Pixelar MReaders, and is produced by e-Ink.com.
e-Ink
Electronic ink is a proprietary material that is processed into a film for integration into electronic displays. Although revolutionary in concept, electronic ink is a straightforward fusion of chemistry, physics and electronics to create this new material. The principal components of electronic ink are millions of tiny microcapsules, about the diameter of a human hair.
In one incarnation, each microcapsule contains positively charged white particles and negatively charged black particles suspended in a clear fluid. When a negative electric field is applied, the white particles move to the top of the microcapsule where they become visible to the user. This makes the surface appear white at that spot. At the same time, an opposite electric field pulls the black particles to the bottom of the microcapsules where they are hidden. By reversing this process, the black particles appear at the top of the capsule, which now makes the surface appear dark at that spot.
Specifications for MReader 6'' High Resolution Active Matrix Display :
Optical
| White State | 40% (typical) |
| Contrast Ratio | 6:1 (Min) |
| Viewing Angle | Near 180º |
| Greyscale Capability | 4-bit 16 greyscale |
| Typical Image Update Time | < 1s (greyscale mode) / 280 ms (1-bit mode) |
| Operating Temperature | 0ºC to 40ºC |
Environmental
| Operating Temperature Range | 0º—50º C |
| Storage Temperature Range | -25º—70º C |
Mechanical / Dimensional - 6" Display
| Pixel Count | 800 x 600 |
| Active Area | 122.4 x 90.6 mm 152.3 mm (6") diagonal |
| Display Thickness | 1.2mm |
| DPI | 166 |