Electro Wetting Display technology (EWD)

Electrowetting displays: the future alternative for LED displays

There has been a long quest for digital outdoor displays to become environment friendly. Up to now, energy consumption and light pollution prevent regular displays to take this role. This whitepaper explains why Etulipa’s Electro Wetting Display technology is at the forefront of this change. It gives a short overview of the basics of Electro Wetting Display technology, and goes on to explain why full color and video combines with the environmentally friendly technology of Etulipa’s Electro Wetting displays.

At night

For visibility at night, a light would be needed. “Compare it to reading the newspaper”, says Carla Verweerden, Senior Marketing & Communication manager at Etulipa. “In the evening you would also need light to read it. At the moment we don’t have any lighting on, so the display not readable in the evening.”

How does it work?

Electro wetting makes use of the surface tension of the liquids. A display consists of many tiny cells and each cell contains a transparent polar liquid and a colored oil that covers a hydrophobic surface. By applying a low voltage to the cells, the oil contracts into a small droplet. This creates an optical switch, which can be opened or closed. Since the displays are driven by voltage, without current flow, they are highly energy efficient. That makes the Electro Wetting Displays ultra low power.