SBIR Phase I: vueDEW : Bi-stable, Electrowetting Display Technology

这项小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将展示一项技术的可行性，该技术的成功将产生新颖的、超低功耗的、反射式显示器，这种显示器将成为电视、电脑和移动设备中平板液晶显示器的环保替代品。这个简单而巧妙的概念将现有的电润湿显示器从必须在“开”状态下消耗电力转变为在“开”或“关”状态下不消耗电力。在两个电润湿表面之间夹着几层彩色的油和水。一个表面被亲水屏障细分为亚像素。当吸光油层覆盖整个像素时，会出现稳定的“关闭”状态。当这个表面通过电润湿变得亲水时，油珠上升，接触到另一个表面并在那里转移。在另一个表面，油被限制在单个亚像素，覆盖总像素的25%或更少，从而产生75%的透射率，稳定的“开”状态。这种简单，但高度创新，正在申请专利的安排将导致反射显示，10毫秒的切换速度，100%的颜色转换，阳光可读性，以及在“开”或“关”状态下的零功耗。如果成功，这种类型的电润湿反射显示器有可能影响每年1000亿美元显示器市场的几个重要方面。他们预测的高反射率，环境光可读性，使用低成本材料和超低功耗使其非常适合电子墨水应用，如快速增长的电子货架标签市场，预计到2012年将增长到约10亿美元。其他预期的性能优势，如10msec预期的切换速度，低开关功率，100%的颜色转换和阳光下的可读性，使它们成为200亿美元移动显示市场上取代LCD显示器的竞争者。这种显示器可能会在便携式计算机中得到应用，帮助提供更实惠、更环保的便携式计算机可能带来的更广泛的社会效益。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of a technology whose success will result in novel, ultra-low power, reflective displays that will be an environmentally friendly replacement for flat screen LCD displays in TVs, computers and mobile devices. The simple, yet ingenious, concept of this proposal transforms existing electrowetting displays from having to consume power in an 'ON' state, to consuming no power in either the 'ON' or an 'OFF' state. Layers of colored oil and water are sandwiched between two electrowetting surfaces. One surface is subdivided by hydrophilic barriers into sub-pixels. A stable 'OFF' state occurs when the light-absorbing oil layer covers the entire pixel. When that surface is made hydrophilic by electrowetting, the oil beads up, touches the other surface and transitions there. On that other surface the oil is confined to a single sub-pixel covering 25% or less of the total pixel, creating a 75% transmitting, stable 'ON' state. This simple, yet highly innovative, patent pending arrangement should result in reflective displays that 10 msec switching speed, 100% color conversion, sun light readability, and zero power consumption in either the 'on' or 'off' state. If successful this type of electrowetting reflective displays have the potential to impact several important facets of the $100 billion a year display market. Their predicted high reflectivity, ambient light readability, use of low cost materials and ultra-low power consumption make them potentially very well suited to e-ink applications such as the rapidly growing electronic shelf label market that is forecast to grow to about $1 billion by 2012. Other anticipated performance advantages, such as the 10msec anticipated switching speed, low switching power, 100% color conversion and sun light readability, make them contenders to replace LCD displays in the $20 billion mobile display market. The displays may find use in portable computers, helping provide the possible broader social benefits of more affordable, and more environmentally friendly, portable computers.