World's Thinnest Active Matrix Display

"E-Ink says its new active matrix screen is not only shatter-proof and flexible, but only measures 1/13 of the thickness of other active matrix displays on the market.

The Cambridge, Mass. company announced recently a new active matrix screen measuring just 0.3mm thick, half the thickness of a standard credit card. Most active-matrix displays currently in use are 2mm thick and require a backlight or sidelight that makes their total thickness 4mm or more. E-Ink's displays are over thirteen times thinner.

...This provides a super-thin screen that's not only shatterproof but flexible as well. The screen should also be bi-stable, meaning that it only requires power to change the displayed pattern of pixels, rather than a continuous charge to refresh them as LCD screens do.

The high-contrast, low-power screens can be fast-tracked into production in new devices. Unlike other next-generation display technology like OLED, E-Ink's backplane technology uses readily available steel and the screens are compatible with existing semiconductor process technologies. E-Ink steel-foil screens are expected to appear in consumer devices as early as 2004.

E-Ink displayed two prototype screens, each targeted at different kinds of mobile devices. The first prototype was a 1.6 inch diagonal, 80 pixels per inch (ppi) screen designed for smart cards and cell phones. It has a display resolution of 100 x 80 pixels.

The other prototype is a 3 inch screen targested at handheld devices like PDAs, two-way pagers, etc. It's a 96ppi screen with a 240 x 160 resolution, about the size and resolution of current Palm m100 screens." [infoSync]

Having just seen Minority Report last night and seeing folks in the movie reading an E-ink newspaper, this announcement is very timely! The ebook industry had better get their butts in gear so that it's ready when devices with these screens become available.