Nanotechnology drives electronic paper displays

With all the buzz that is being created by portable e-book readers, it's worth taking a look at one of the advanced display technologies - also often referred to as electronic paper - that make these devices happen. Unlike a conventional flat panel display, which uses a power-consuming backlight to illuminate its pixels, electronic paper reflects light like ordinary paper and is capable of holding text and images indefinitely without drawing electricity, while allowing the image to be changed later. Because they can be produced on thin, flexible substrates an due to their paper-like appearance, electrophoretic displays are considered prime examples of the electronic paper category. Electrophoretic displays already are in commercial use, for instance in the Kindle or in the Sony Reader, but so far the displays are mostly black and white. There are still cost and quality issues with color displays. New work by researchers in South Korea shows that organic ink nanoparticles could provide an improved electronic ink fabrication technology resulting in e-paper with high brightness, good contrast ratio, and lower manufacturing cost.

Wyss Institute launches ‘molecular origami’ interactive feature

Molecular Origami is a process that allows researchers to build nano-sized structures out of DNA (or RNA). To help illustrate the basics of DNA origami, Harvard’s Wyss Institute has created a Flash-based interactive feature that allows users to build virtual nanostructures by sequencing a simple, abstract representation of a DNA molecule and then allowing it to self assemble.

Cascade Microtech, Inc. and SUSS MicroTec AG Agree to Pursue Technology Alliance

Cascade Microtech, a worldwide leader in the precise electrical and mechanical measurement and test of integrated circuits (ICs) and other small structures, and SUSS MicroTec AG, a leading supplier of equipment and process solutions for the semiconductor industry and related markets, announced today that they have agreed to pursue a strategic alliance to address the growing device complexities of emerging semiconductor technologies such as 3D TSV manufacturing and test.