At present, the electronic paper display industry is at the cusp of the times, and will contribute to social carbon neutralization, national visual health and circular economy.
Electronic paper products have gradually enabled a new experience in the new retail era by virtue of their near-zero power consumption and bistable advantages. Electronic price tags, as a price display tool, have gradually become the standard for new retail. At the same time, “contactless” lifestyles such as video conferencing and online classes have become the norm. With the increasing popularity of electronic products in the digital age, it is the common expectation of the whole society to protect the bright “vision” of children and adolescents. The paper-like electronic paper reflective display technology has a natural and comfortable viewing experience, which is more advantageous than the existing mainstream display technology and the next-generation competing technology.
Color eye protection electronic paper is
on the horizon In the electronic paper tablet market, this year Huawei, iFLYTEK, Palm Reading, Hanwang, Bigme and other manufacturers have released their new electronic paper tablet products, and Chinese brands are trying to gradually take over the Kindle. Although these new products have their own characteristics, they still cannot make up for the pain points of “writing black and white text is enough, seeing color pictures is reluctant, and watching videos is very weak”. At the same time, as visual health problems are becoming more and more serious, especially among teenagers, the myopia rate is increasing day by day. According to the World Health Organization, the number of visually impaired children and adolescents in the world will reach 312 million in 2020, and it will increase to 510 million by 2050; the National Health Commission has announced that the overall myopia rate in children and adolescents has been as high as 50% in recent years, and The problem of myopia in younger age is still prominent. Therefore, users hope that the electronic paper tablet will transform from a reader to a common strong interaction device in daily study, work and life scenarios. display screen touch
In this context, how to implement eye-protection display terminals that support mainstream information (color, video) has become the focus of attention. However, the industrialization progress of a new generation of color video electronic paper for this eye-protection display terminal, which is urgently needed by the market, is not fast enough. At the same time, electrowetting electronic paper is continuously promoting the industrialization development.
The general trend of color, video and flexible development
After more than 20 years of development, the electronic paper display industry has formed a market size of more than 10 billion US dollars in annual sales. With the thirst for eye protection display terminals in mainstream display markets such as the Internet of Things and smart cities, the development of electronic paper reflective displays has ushered in an explosion. The best time to grow.
From a technical point of view, the development trend of color, video and flexible electronic paper display is very clear. In the past 10 years, my country’s two major paths of electrophoresis and electrowetting have gone hand in hand, and technological development and leading roles have become increasingly prominent. A breakthrough has been made in the electrophoresis path and localized development has been achieved. The electrowetting path is aimed at technological change and has entered the mainstream display technology for the first time.
The
current electronic paper stock market is mainly based on electrophoresis technology, focusing on application needs such as near-zero power consumption, low response, bistable price tags, quasi-static e-books, bus stop signs, etc. Although it is booming, it is still in the mainstream display field. There is still considerable room for improvement in penetration. Relying on the advantages of “color and video” and the healthy eye protection properties of paper-like, the new generation of electro-wetting electronic paper will not only cover part of the electrophoresis market, but also cultivate an incremental market for electronic paper, focusing on eye protection tablets with strong interactive needs ( Smart classroom/office), smart city, smart community, vehicle central control and dashboard screen, real-time online navigation screen and other dynamic color reflective display application markets, with the potential of a market scale of 100 billion yuan.
It is learned from some terminal manufacturers in the field of eye-protection flat panel display in my country that the user’s approval for simulating paper eye-protection screens based on multi-layer scattering films combined with liquid crystal LCD panels needs to be improved urgently. Some studies have found that compared with reflective paper books, the use of blue light emitted by self-illuminating readers will cause more visual discomfort; and when the text display area is the same, both electronic paper and paper books based on the reflective principle no difference. However, in order to improve the public’s acceptance of e-paper visual health, there are still blind spots in the current systematic and scientific reflective display visual health evaluation methods and standards, including how health is, which indicators to choose, how to establish scientific testing methods, and how to determine Especially when evaluating applications in complex light environments, it is urgent to establish eye protection standards and build user confidence.
The core technical challenges of electronic paper display still exist
For electronic paper display, the core technical problems and solutions that need to be solved are as follows.
Localization of key display materials and process equipment for electronic paper. Its solution direction starts from the two technical routes of electrophoresis and electrowetting: in the electrophoresis technology route, the mass production of three-color/multi-color electronic paper materials is currently realized by developing the micro-cavity wrapping technology to meet the market demand for price tags; at the same time, the development of Color filter technology to meet the needs of customers in the education market; in addition, to develop flexible technology to meet the needs of lightweight and bendable applications.
Starting from the revolutionary electrowetting technology route, at present, through the construction of an independent and controllable material system including key interface functional materials for electronic paper display and printing electronic paper ink materials, a localized core material supply chain is established, and high color It focuses on the integration and localization of electronic paper devices, and develops a printing process-based color video display front panel preparation process and display ink filling and packaging integrated core equipment.
E-paper reflective display visual health evaluation standard system and establishment of intelligent evaluation platform. The solution is to build a scientific test platform and scene, investigate the impact of various display technologies on visual health, study the visual health model of reflective display based on comprehensive evaluation of multi-modal human-induced signals, and finally establish a reflective eye protection display. Evaluation standards and certification systems.
Since visual health involves multiple independent technical fields such as medicine, information technology, psychology, audio and video technology, and even sociology, it is necessary to interpenetrate and intersect with various disciplines to form a joint effort to promote the deep integration of industry, academia and research, and to strengthen users from science and practice. Confidence, open up and seize the blue ocean market represented by eye protection tablet.
Electronic paper is expected to be “three-pointed world” with transmissive and emissive displays.
Since this year, whether it is the BMW Group’s release of the world’s first color-changing concept car completely wrapped in electronic paper, X Flow, at the CES exhibition, or Huawei’s MWC2022 The MatePad Paper, a new electronic paper book launched during the (Mobile World Congress), has attracted the market’s attention to electronic paper. In the future, e-paper will be one of the excellent solutions under the global “two-carbon” goal, which is deeply in line with the design concept of natural eye protection, environmental friendliness and high utilization rate.
From the perspective of industrial layout, under the background that the current transmissive and emissive display industry pattern is becoming more and more solidified and competition is intensifying, the quasi-static electronic paper display industry is ushering in the trend of the times; at the same time, my country is in the field of a new generation of color video electronic paper display The technological development and leading role of the company are becoming increasingly prominent, and the main goal will be to focus on solving the problems of mass production and application of core technologies, forming a strong industrial core competitiveness and occupying a dominant position in mass production.
In short, to promote high-quality health eye protection “paper-like” display products into mainstream military and civilian application fields with strong interactive needs such as smart classrooms, artificial intelligence, smart cities, and field equipment, and create a huge “incremental market” for health displays, which is expected to promote The electronic paper industry has formed an industrial pattern of “three-point world” with transmissive and emissive displays.
