A critical review of the present and future prospects for electronic paper

The commercial success of monochrome electronic paper (e-Paper) is now propelling the development of next-generation flexible, video, and color e-Paper products. Unlike the early battles in the 1980s and 1990s between transmissive and emissive display technologies, there is a extraordinary diversity of technologies vying to become the next generation of e-Paper. A critical review of all major e-Paper technologies, including a technical breakdown of the performance limitations based on device physics and commentary on possible future breakthroughs, is presented. In addition, the visual requirements for color e-Paper are provided and compared to standards used in conventional print. It is concluded that researchers have much work remaining in order to bridge the significant gap between reflective electronic displays and print-on-paper.