It goes without saying that the LCD TVs which have more or less become commonplace these days, be it at homes or at public spaces and offices, are extremely efficient – and even more so with the introduction of LED backlighting. However, despite all of the various technologies involved, none of them happen to be as efficient as E Ink displays although to be fair to the TVs, E Ink displays are worlds removed from the TVs in terms of their functionality. Still, a research team at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has discovered a way to bridge both worlds, so to speak, by coming up with an LCD screen which is capable of retaining a particular image – even when there is no power supplied to the LCD screen, where theoretically speaking, this very same LCD screen can remain with the image sans power for years!
To make this possible, the use of a rewritable liquid crystal display (ORWLCD) is imperative. The ORWLCD does not require a layer of electrodes to run through it, making it quite unlike the LCD TVs of today. Instead, “writing” the image to screen will require an LCD Mask and 450nm LED. What are some of the potential and immediate benefits? Well, the lack of electrodes translates to a far thinner display than a conventional LCD, not to mention being a whole lot more affordable to manufacture due to it not requiring any plastic substrate.
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