Skinny screens to lighten load

Published 09 December, 2008, 10:43

A new kind of computer screen is set to revolutionise the way we think about notebooks, mobiles and personal organizers. That’s according to computer maker Hewlett Packard, who have unveiled a prototype of the flexible display, said to be more efficient and affordable than anything that has gone before.

The new screen is paper-thin and consumes far less energy than today’s computer displays, making it a perfect solution for portable devices like smart phones, laptops or e-readers, say its creators HP and Flexible Display Center (FDC) based at Arizona State University.

Its most striking feature is its affordability. The display is produced with HP’s award-winning technology called SAIL (self-aligned imprint lithography). It’s a potential replacement technique for the photolithography process that is used to manufacture displays and computer chips today.

The groundbreaking manufacturing process dramatically cuts down costs both in material and time. The result is a ‘cheap-as-dirt’ high-resolution display.

The new technology certainly has good prospects in e-paper applications and signage (in fact its imaging is based on the E Ink electronic paper that Esquire magazine used for its cover in October 2008).

Its future in portable devices is less clear, though. New displays will have to fight for their place in the sun against competitors like the organic light emitting diodes (OLED). The market is a tasty money pie which is expected to grow to $2.8 billion by 2013.

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