The Future of Electronic Paper. Thirty- five years in the making, electronic paper is now closer than ever to changing the way we read, write, and study — a revolution so profound that some see it as second only to the invention of the printing press in the 1. Made of flexible material, requiring ultra- low power consumption, cheap to manufacture, and—most important—easy and convenient to read, e- papers of the future are just around the corner, with the promise to hold libraries on a chip and replace most printed newspapers before the end of the next decade. This article will cover the history, technology, and future of what will be the second paper revolution. E- paper History: An Interview with Nick Sheridon, Father of E- paper. In the 1. 97. 0s, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox PARC) was a powerhouse of innovation. Many aspects the modern computer, namely the mouse, laser printer, Ethernet, GUI, computer- generated color graphics, as well as a number of important computer languages, were invented at PARC around that time. Yet another development, nearly lost among those important breakthroughs, was invented in 1. PARC employee Nicholas K. Sheridon. The Gyricon, a Greek term for rotating image, was to be new display technology for the Alto personal computer; eventually, it became the basis for modern e- paper technology. Nearly 3. 5 years later, TFOT sat down with Nick Sheridon to ask him about his historic invention. Q: How did it all start? A: In the late 6. Xerox PARC was developing and attempting to get Xerox management to appreciate the Alto personal computer; they never did. It was the world’s first office and word- processing computer, but this remarkable machine had one serious drawback: the cathode- ray tube display it used—the best available—was not bright enough, and the contrast was not great. Smart 2D animation software that lets you turn still images into live moving scenes. Create living, breathing worlds from your still image with minimum effort. Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson H. Kearny Offical Home Page, Download the book FREE, Buy the Book from us, overnight shipping and more. Download the PDF right. Television Programs and Commercials: Videotapes in the Media Resources Center UC Berkeley. For decades, photo and video equipment was designed and tested with only white subjects in mind. Lighting darker skin tones takes a different approach than lighting. People that used the machine did so in a darkened room, with the lights turned off and the window shades drawn. Several of us scientists were asked to try to find a better display, hopefully one that could permit operation in a brightly lit ambient. I invented the Gyricon rotating- ball display and a display based on a physical phenomenon I called “electrocapillarity.” The electrocapillarity display worked by moving colored liquids against a white background. The rest of the group worked on electrophoretic displays (eventually dropped due to lifetime problems). A piece of history: one of the first pieces of. Gyricon material to be made, about 2centimeters on a side from the 1. Theimagewas produced by placing an “X” shapedelectrode on the Gyricon sheet andapplying a voltage. Normally, the Gyricondoes not save images for 3. Image: Nicholas K. Sheridon/TFOT). I codeveloped the Gyricon and electrocapillarity displays for about 1. Gyricon would be easier to develop. Hoping to get back to the electrocapillary display, I delayed applying for patents until the early 9. When my patent applications were laid open in Europe, a university group revived the work and changed the name to “electrowetting.” Electrowetting is widely studied and is considered a promising candidate for electronic paper. I published a paper on the Gyricon and made several presentations. Several patents were applied for. About this time, I met the Xerox head of corporate research in the PARC cafeteria. He complimented me on my display work but pointed out that Xerox was not in the display business. At this point, I realized the Alto was not going to be developed by Xerox. He strongly urged me to invent new printer technology to counter the erosion of the Xerox copier/printer market by the Japanese. I stopped the Gyricon work and eventually invented a new electronic- printing technology based on ionography. This became a large program at Xerox, consuming perhaps $1. We developed and were in early- manufacturing operations of the world’s first multifunction desktop machine—printer, copier, input scanner, and fax—when this program was cancelled. This left me free to invent the concept of electronic paper. Much has been written about the incredible myopia of Xerox executives of the time, so I won’t go into that except to say that there were numerous other opportunities to enormously expand Xerox’s business that were similarly fumbled. Xerox had enough money to create an incredible research lab with top- notch people, but Xerox management could not shake off the copier mentality. Q: So how was e- paper born? A: I realized the need for e- paper in 1. At Xerox PARC, we had long predicted the advent of the paperless office, with the widespread adoption of the personal computer we pioneered. The paperless office never happened. Instead, the personal computer caused more paper to be consumed. I realized that most of the paper consumption was caused by a difference in comfort level between reading documents on paper and reading them on the CRT screen. Any document over a half page in length was likely to be printed, subsequently read, and discarded within a day. There was a need for a paper- like electronic display — e- paper! It needed to have as many paper properties as possible, because ink on paper is the “perfect display.” Subsequently, I realized that the Gyricon display, which I had invented in the early 7. I set about developing a manufacturing process for the Gyricon and solving its early problems. At this time, I was working alone, with a very good technician. Q: Was there a eureka moment, or was the outcome more or less anticipated from the start? A: There was a eureka moment when the need for e- paper crystallized in my mind and I realized—or thought I did—the magnitude of the challenge. Very euphoric! Q: It’s been almost 3. Why do you think it is taking so long to enter the market? A: E- paper has entered the market, but not yet in a big way. Gyricon sold message signs, and E Ink Corporation provided the e- paper for the Sony Reader sold in Japan. Kent Displays is also selling signs. No technology is yet sufficiently paper- like to grab the huge latent market widely recognized to be there. More invention is needed. This is a lot like the early days of television development, when everyone knew what was needed but getting the technology right was tough. Q: What do you see as the obstacles facing mass adoption of e- paper technology? A: No technology is sufficiently paper- like, yet. By this, I mean a display medium that is thin, flexible, capable of storing readable images without power consumption, highly readable in ambient light, and has good resolution, high whiteness, and good contrast — and is pretty cheap. A big part of this equation is the addressing electronics. Organic thin film transistors, or TFTs, will provide flexible addressing at a low cost, and other technologies show promise, but none of these are quite ready. Q: Are these problems currently being addressed by the industry? A: More than a dozen companies have announced work on active e- paper programs, and there are a number of start- ups. As I mentioned, the low cost and flexible electronic- addressing capability of organic TFT technology is important and is being intensively developed by a number of organizations. Still, I have not yet seen the ideal e- paper media solution. Q: Are you still working on the development of e- paper? A: Xerox closed its Gyricon operation in December 2. I was director of research. I am now working independently and doing some consulting. And, yes, I am working to invent the perfect e- paper medium. Q: When do you think we will see widespread use of e- paper? A: I think the revolution will evolve, first as handheld displays of high contrast that are readable in direct sunlight —probably in the next year or two—followed by low power- consuming book readers (available in Japan, and more widely as intellectual- property rights issues are sorted out); and over the next five years, electronic signs and billboards. The pocket document reader will take a little longer. Q: How do you see the future of e- paper? Nick Sheridon and Fereshteh Lesani showoff the first roll of Gyricon E- PAPERproducedby 3. M partners. (Credit: Xerox). A: I like to tell people that the holy grail of e- paper will be embodied as a cylindrical tube, about 1 centimeter in diameter and 1. The tube will contain a tightly rolled sheet of e- paper that can be spooled out of a slit in the tube as a flat sheet, for reading, and stored again at the touch of a button.
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