Research Advances Paper As Electronic Display Media

(Dottie Stover, University of Cincinnati)

A University of Cincinnati (UC) engineering researcher in Ohio has discovered a process for displaying electronic content on paper, which expands the possibility of lower-cost, or even disposable, electronic reading devices. Current e-readers, such as the iPad or Kindle, display content with electronic circuitry over glass as their display substrates.

UC electrical Engineering Professor Andrew Steckl’s research demonstrates that paper can be used as a flexible host material for an electrowetting device. Electrowetting involves applying an electric field to colored droplets within a display in order to reveal content such as type, photographs, and video.

Steckl (pictured right) and doctoral student Duk Young Kim also found that the performance of the electrowetting device on paper is equivalent to that of glass. Their findings, published in the November issue of ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces (paid subscription required), suggest that a paper-based media device would not only be less expensive that current technologies, but also more disposable and environmentally friendly.

*     *     *