Here is something exciting to look forward to during the upcoming Electronica 2012 event in Munich. Epson has joined hands with Plastic Logic with the aim of optimizing performance of displays in the 1 to 5 inch category. Plastic Logic is at the forefront for the research and development of bendable plastic displays, and the joint collaboration with Epson will surely make the displays more practical in the long run.
How? Epson has developed a controller/driver, which is unique in that all the required components for controlling electrophoretic displays (EPD) have been crammed in a single module. The S1D13541—as the controller/driver has been designated—features four display pipelines “which can be used in parallel to represent up to 16 levels of grey.”
What all of this means is that the displays from Plastic Logic, enabled with this technology can be used in a variety of application such as healthcare and automotive displays to mobile devices.
“Plastic Logic’s versatile display solutions are all based on plastic and offer our customers the ability to improve their applications, as well as develop completely new products: from a wristband with an integrated flexible display to large area signage. We are delighted to announce the partnership between Epson and Plastic Logic, which has led to the development of a solution focused on our flexible plastic display sizes in the range of one to five inches and based on Epson‘s EPD controller S1D13541. This will offer great advantages for various applications, including mobile devices and will allow the freedom for new product design approaches,” explained Dr. Peter Fischer, CTO at Plastic Logic.
Speaking of the joint collaboration, Manfred Wittmeir, IC Department Manager at Epson Europe Electronics said, “In recent years Epson has concentrated its development in particular on the development of unique EPD controllers for ebook customers. Our next objective is to expand our product range to also include industrial and other promising new applications.”
“Electrophoretic displays based on the S1D13541 module are the ideal solution for any customer wanting to develop EPD based applications in a simple way and without the necessity for a complex technical learning process.”
Plastic logic has long been involved in the research and development of plastic based displays, though a viable product produced en masse is yet to be a reality. It had launched an e-reader in Russia last year, though it failed to evoke a strong enough response. The last we heard, Plastic Logic had announced it would quit manufacturing and subsequent marketing of e-readers and would limit its involvement to just licensing agreements with other manufacturers.
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Munich and Dresden – 12 November 2012 – Epson Europe Electronics GmbH will present a controller/driver developed for Plastic Logic’s innovative flexible plastic displays at electronica 2012 in Munich. The collaboration between the two companies has allowed optimisation of performance targeted at displays between 1ʺ and 5ʺ size.
The Epson controller/driver S1D13541 for electrophoretic displays (EPD) combines all of the fundamental components for controlling an EPD on one single module. The S1D13541 contains an EPD controller with four display pipelines, which can be used in parallel to represent up to 16 levels of grey. Furthermore, it contains 480 TFT source driver outputs as well as a built-in memory and supports display resolutions up to 480 x 854 pixels. The module also integrates a waveform memory, a DC/DC booster circuit (optional usage) for the generation of all required display voltages, as well as a temperature sensor.
In combination with an external TFT gate driver, the S1D13541 forms an ideal system, allowing this new display technology from Plastic Logic to be used in a broad range of applications, including healthcare and automotive applications, as well as in mobile devices and smart cards.
Plastic Logic has developed a flexible plastic display technology using organic thin film transistors (OTFT). The use of a plastic substrate instead of glass enables completely new applications and products. As a result, Plastic Logic can manufacture flexible plastic EPDs (monochrome and colour) in various sizes (from 1 ʺ to 20ʺ), which are extremely light, ultra-thin, particularly robust and very low power. These displays can be manufactured with thicknesses considerably thinner than 400 µm and with a bendability radius of at least 15 mm.
Dr. Peter Fischer, CTO at Plastic Logic explained: “Plastic Logic’s versatile display solutions are all based on plastic and offer our customers the ability to improve their applications, as well as develop completely new products: from a wristband with an integrated flexible display to large area signage. We are delighted to announce the partnership between Epson and Plastic Logic, which has led to the development of a solution focused on our flexible plastic display sizes in the range of one to five inches and based on Epson‘s EPD controller S1D13541. This will offer great advantages for various applications, including mobile devices and will allow the freedom for new product design approaches.“
“In recent years Epson has concentrated its development in particular on the development of unique EPD controllers for eBook customers. Our next objective is to expand our product range to also include industrial and other promising new applications,” stated Manfred Wittmeir, IC Department Manager at Epson Europe Electronics. “Electrophoretic displays based on the S1D13541 module are the ideal solution for any customer wanting to develop EPD based applications in a simple way and without the necessity for a complex technical learning process.“
Epson Europe Electronics GmbH will showcase the first display samples based on its cooperation with Plastic Logic at electronica 2012 in Munich (13-16 November) in hall A4, stand 224.
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With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.