Seiko Epson Develops High-Resolution E-Paper
Japan’s
Seiko Epson has developed a prototype electronic-paper display that
offers the world’s highest resolution, the company said Monday.The
7.1-inch screen that Seiko Epson has developed is approximately the
same size as an A6 piece of paper (105 by 148 millimeters) and has a
resolution of 1,536 by 2048 pixels, the company said.Electronic paper
is a hot area of display research at present. The screens are made on
sheets of plastic and so are flexible and thin just like a piece of
paper, hence their name. Developers envisage that they could be used as
foldable or rollable displays instead of newspapers. Because they are
digital, the news could be updated in real time or even include
video.The prototype screen combines several technologies that Seiko
Epson has previously developed, said Alastair Bourne, a spokesman for
the company, which is based in Suwa, Japan. The technologies include
flexible memory chips, development of which was announced last year.
The chips can be built onto the same plastic substrate as the display
and can bend with the screen.The screen is partly based on technology
from E Ink. The two companies and Seiko Watch last year began sales of
a wristwatch with a flexible electronic paper display. The new
prototype display is not only bigger than that used in the watch, but
is also an active type, which means it can show moving images. The
watch display wasn’t capable of that, said Epson