{"id":9373,"date":"2013-06-27T21:41:04","date_gmt":"2013-06-28T01:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/blog\/?p=9373"},"modified":"2021-07-23T16:41:38","modified_gmt":"2021-07-23T20:41:38","slug":"energy-harvesting-displays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/energy-harvesting-displays\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Harvesting Displays"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EnergyOver 90 percent of the displays sold will use liquid-crystal display<\/strong> (LCD) technology. However, LCDs are tremendously energy inefficient<\/strong>, converting only about 5 percent of the light produced by a backlight into a viewable image. The LCD in a notebook computer consumes one-third of its power. MIT’s<\/a> Technology Review<\/em><\/a> reported<\/a> on efforts at the University of Michigan<\/a><\/strong> to improve<\/strong> the efficiency of LCD panels and boost the battery life<\/strong> of phones and laptops.<\/p>\n

\"BenqThe LCD screen<\/a> remains dominant because manufacturers can make LCDs<\/a> inexpensively on a vast scale. More energy-efficient displays are either too expensive to manufacture or cannot produce high-quality images. “The LCD is very inefficient<\/strong>, but it works,” Jennifer Colegrove<\/a> at Display Search<\/a>, a market research and consulting firm, told TR.<\/em><\/p>\n

At Michigan<\/a>, they are tackling one of the biggest culprits of wasted light in LCDs<\/a>: color filters<\/strong>. The group, led by Jay Guo<\/a>, is developing energy-harvesting color filters<\/strong>. Color filters are used in many displays, but the ones by Professor Guo’s team are appropriate for use in reflective “electronic paper” screens. These contain sub-pixel arrays that absorb ambient light and reflect red, green, or blue light.<\/p>\n

Energy efficiency at Michigan<\/h3>\n

\"University<\/a>Dr. Guo and his U of M colleagues combined a common polymer solar cell material with a color filter that his group invented last year. The photovoltaic color filter converts about two percent of the light that would otherwise be wasted into electricity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

U of M’s Guo estimates that full displays incorporating this photovoltaic filter could generate tens of milliwatts of power, enough to extend the life of a cell phone battery. The photovoltaic color filter is described in a paper<\/a> published online in the journal ACS Nano<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

“It’s an intriguing idea<\/strong><\/em>,” says Gary Gibson<\/a>, a scientist developing reflective color displays at HP Labs<\/a> in Palo Alto, California<\/a>. Low brightness is a recurring problem for color electronic paper. If the color filter proves practical, says Gibson, energy harvested from ambient light could power a backlight and make the display brighter.<\/p>\n

rb-<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Go<\/a>Harvesting energy from the environment with the device is a trick that could boost the battery life of phones and laptops. Oh yeah, the article also talked about similar work at UCLA<\/a>. Go Blue!<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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