10.4 ewriters and the Leap to Commercialization in Flexible Electronic Components

Transcription

1 10.4 ewriters and the Leap to Commercialization in Flexible Electronic Components Erica Montbach, Asad Khan, Clinton Braganza, Mark Lightfoot, Mauricio Echeverri, and J. William Doane 1 Wednesday June FLEX Monterey, CA

2 EWRITER CONCEPT 2

3 KDI INNOVATION Technology Cholesteric Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal ewriter film Reflective Inherent color Bi-stable Writable Flexible Manufactured in the USA Manufactured roll-to-roll Numerous possible shapes Value Proposition Eco-friendly replacement for paper/pen Superior Writing experience Low power 3

4 CHOLESTERIC LIQUID CRYSTAL planar planar Reflectance [%] lower chiral HTP or φ Focal conic Focal conic λ max n φ HTP n = average refractive index φ = chiral dopant concentration HTP = dopant Helical Twisting Power λ = n P P/ Wavelength [nm] n(r) 4

5 EWRITER TECHNOLOGY Bright state from Bragg reflection Dark State from slightly scattering Focal Conic texture Based on bistable cholesteric liquid crystals Bragg reflection from liquid crystal layer Writing pressure induces flow in ChLC layer creating Bright Planar texture Press of button applies voltage and returns ChLC to Focal Conic texture Contrast from dark absorbing layer on back Polymer pillars for good line acuity ~40% ~5% Contrast is enhanced by an absorbing layer 5

6 EWRITER PROGRESS Start 6

7 INNOVATION IN MANY FORMS Started from RnD focused company Built roll-to-roll volume manufacturing in Kent, OH, USA Developed Consumer Packaged Goods Operation Volume manufacturing ewriter component Global supply chain Industrial Design of final device Lifetime and reliability Consumer packaging, shipping boxes, sub-cartons, pallets, point of sale end caps Worldwide distribution and Sales 7

8 PRODUCT FAMILY 8

9 SELECT ERASE 9

10 Precise and Accurate Instantaneous PENCIL - ON - PAPER Low WRITING Power and ERASING Not EXPERIENCE Messy Safe and FUN!!! 10

11 ELECTRO-OPTIC RESPONSE Eraser Stylus Note: Full Erase - V E applied Select Erase - V SE + Eraser pressure applied reduced cell gap d 1 d 2 d 1 region with normal cell gap Reflectivity (a.u.) normal cell gap d 2 region with reduced cell gap due to eraser pressure V SE V E Applied Voltage (V) 11

12 LARGE EWRITER 12

13 LARGE EWRITER Boogie Board device naturally extends to large application, due to: Great writing experience Clean erase Electronic switching eboard application has: Viewer several feet from display Thick line-width, high reflectivity display Vertical mount More pressure sensitive writing experience Cross-Section Large ewriter is: Intuitive, easy to use whiteboard replacement Easily and cleanly erased with no mess Consumable free (markers and erasers) Compatible with electronic save Substrate/coatings Conductor LC/polymer/spacers Conductor Substrate Absorbing Ink Optional Digitizer 13

14 OPTICAL PROPERTIES Large ewriter Planar Large ewriter Focal Conic Original Boogie Board Planar Original Boogie Board FocalConic Reflectance (%) Large ewriter Wavelength (nm) Original Boogie Board Large ewriter tuned for viewing at further distance Reflectivity 2.75X original Boogie Board Contrast ratio also significantly higher Polymer/ChLC morphology designed for super high reflectivity, high contrast and wide linewidth Also compatible with high volume roll-to-roll processes Large ewriter Peak Reflectivity (%) 38.5 Contrast Ratio Linewidth (mm)

15 Conclusions ewriter Progress ewriter developed from other flexible ChLC technology at KDI History of cutting edge innovation enabled growth and printed flexible electronics development Relatively RnD focused company expanded into consumer electronics supplier Select Erase ewriter maintains full erase capability Low cost and power compared to other methods (i.e. patterning, heat) Instantaneous and precise Large ewriter Intuitive, easy to use whiteboard replacement Easily and cleanly erased with no mess Consumable free (markers and erasers) 15

16 THANK YOU 16

17 SUPPLIMENTAL 17

18 ELECTRO-OPTIC RESPONSE Starting with Written Planar Texture Reflectivity (a.u.) Written Planar Weakly Scattering Focal Conic State Switched Planar Switched reflectivity Written reflectivity Choose a voltage V E from this response curve V1 V2 V E V3 V4 Applied Voltage (V) 18

19 FULL ERASE Written Surface Erased Surface When V E is applied, the WHOLE display is switched to the weakly scattering focal conic texture FULL ERASE V E 19

20 DEVICE SAVE FEATURE Save feature enabled by digitizer located behind ewriter Electro-magnetic resonance (EMR) sensor and dedicated wireless stylus Large ewriter display instantly provides visual response to written images Additionally saves written information Data stored and available on local network using small web server in device Wirelessly accesses local network using WiFi connection Files provided via browser interface, no custom applications required 20