Displays made with E Ink®'s Imaging Film are ideally suited for flexible display applications due to their thin form factor and inherent flexibility. E Ink's electronic ink is an image stable reflective display technology that uses ultra-low power but is easily read under any lighting condition including direct sunlight. Unlike liquid crystal displays, the image on E Ink displays looks the same from all viewing angles and will not distort when touched or flexed, making electronic ink the ideal display medium for flexible displays and portable devices.

E Ink currently offers all-plastic segmented cells that are flexible and comformable. These cells can be used in a range of applications from clocks and watches to electronic shelf displays and preprogrammed signage. While E Ink's display materials already enable fully flexible displays, flexible backplane technology for high-resolution, active matrix displays are in the development stage. Once these backplanes are widely available to display manufacturers we can expect to see the adoption of flexible displays in a number of applications requiring high resolution.

E Ink has been working on flexible displays for a number of years and has pioneered a number of 'world's firsts' in the display industry:

Click here for video of the Lucent prototype.

      
images courtesy of Polymer Vision

   
images courtesy of ASU

      
images courtesy of Plastic Logic

      
images courtesy of Polymer Vision

      
images courtesy of LG.Philips LCD

      

   
click on picture of car for video ^^
images courtesy of Plastic Logic

      
images courtesy of Polymer Vision

E Ink has a number of flexible display iniatives under development, including partnerships with Polymer Vision, Plastic Logic and Epson, among others.

Arizona State University

In February 2004 Arizona State University received a $43.7 million federal grant award from the Army to begin developing a small portable information screen for U.S. soldiers to use on the battlefield. E Ink was one of a few companies selected to participate in this effort. For more information please visit http://flexdisplay.asu.edu/index.html.

Epson

Epson is a global leader in imaging products including printers, projectors and LCDs. With an innovative and creative culture, Epson is dedicated to exceeding the vision and expectations of customers worldwide with products known for their superior quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency.

Epson is a network of 85,647 employees in 115 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and to the communities in which it is located. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., the Group had consolidated sales of 1479.7 billion yen in fiscal 2004. For more information, visit www.epson.co.jp/e/index.htm.

LG.Philips

LG.Philips LCD is a leading manufacturer and supplier of thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels. The Company manufactures TFT-LCD panels in a wide range of sizes and specifications primarily for use in notebook computers, desktop monitors and televisions. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, LG.Philips LCD currently operates six fabrication facilities in Korea and has approximately 15,000 employees in locations around the world. For more information about the Company, please visit www.lgphilips-lcd.com. LG.Philips LCD makes "Technology you can see!"

Plastic Logic

Plastic Logic has a growing portfolio of expertise and intellectual property in plastic electronics - a new technology for manufacturing (or printing) electronics. The Plastic Logic approach solves the critical issues with fabricating low cost, large area, high resolution transistor arrays on plastic substrates by using a low temperature process without vacuum deposition or mask alignment. This enables radically new product concepts in a wide range of applications including displays and sensors.

Plastic Logic's business model in high volume markets is to licence its device and process technology to manufacturers and thereby enable the rapid growth of the plastic electronics industry.

The company was founded in 2000 as a spinout from the University of Cambridge. It is privately held, with a strong group of international investors who have provided over $17Mn funding. With nearly 40 employees, the company is headquartered in the world's first plastic electronics 'mini-fab' on the Cambridge Science Park. For more information, visit www.plasticlogic.com.

Polymer Vision

In February, 2004, Polymer Vision unveiled an organics-based QVGA (320x240 pixels) active matrix displays with a diagonal of 5 inch, a resolution of 85 dpi and a bending radius of 2 cm. The displays combine a 25 micron thick active-matrix back plane, containing the polymer electronics-based pixel driving, with a 200 micron front plane of reflective 'electronic ink' developed by E Ink Corporation. For more information, see Polymer Vision's website, at www.polymervision.com.