Epson debuts e-paper breakthrough

The new electronic paper achieves Quad-XGA resolution (1,536 x 2,048 pixels) and shows the potential for increasing screen size. The development was announced on June 9 at the Society for Information Display (SID) international symposium held in San Francisco.

Epson research and development teams have focused on thin, light and flexible devices that can be reshaped as needed. In the search the company has gathered and created a range of proprietary technologies including low temperature polysilicon thin film transistors (LTPS-TFT).

LTPS-TFT were put onto a plastic substrate using Epson's Surface Free Technology by Laser Ablation /Annealing (SUFTLA) technology.

The company claims its new high-res flexible e-Paper lets users read even the smallest characters on the display. In another breakthrough, the paper requires little power (6 watts), and will even display information for a short time with no power at all.

Data display does not require power and a memory function ensures that information does not disappear even if the power is turned off, the company said. The solution requires so few external terminals that the "paper" can be borderless.