Electrowetting Display also known as EWD is a display technology being developed by Liquavista, a company spun out of Philips in 2006. It utilizes all three optical modes (transmissive, reflective, and transflective).

[edit] Key facts

• All the assets of LCD, but with 2x, 3x, 4x the performance
• Uses electrowetting cell concepts
• Fundamentally brighter, more colorful displays
• Simplified LCD-like manufacturing process
• Patented by Liquavista
• Initially targeting eBook reader markets followed by mobile phones

[edit] Technology

Electrowetting involves modifying the surface tension of liquids on a solid surface using a voltage. By applying a voltage, the wetting properties of a hydrophobic surface can be modified and the surface becomes increasingly hydrophilic (wettable).

With Electrowetting displays, the surface tension of liquids on a solid surface is modified by apply a voltage to the surface to obtain a simple optical switch by contracting a colored oil film electrically. Without a voltage, the colored oil forms a continuous film and the color is visible to the consumer. When a voltage is applied to the display pixel the oil is displaced and the pixel becomes transparent. When different pixels are independently activated, the display can show content like an photograph or a video.

The materials used in Electrowetting displays are very simple: two pieces of glass or plastic and water and oil in between. In addition, an essential ingredient to complete the display is the dye that is dissolved in the oil. The choice of dye determines the color of the display, in particular in the off-state where the oil covers the entire pixel. This implies that a wide range of colors can be achieved with the electrowetting technology simply by varying the color of the dye.

[edit] Low Power mode

The inherent persistence of the display in reflective mode can be used to reduce refresh time to several seconds resulting in a quasi-bistable display that is competitive to a number of gray-scale bistable displays.