Phase-change material for Low-Power Color Displays

Oxford University researchers demonstrate that materials used in DVDs could make color displays that don’t sap power.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/528816/low-power-color-displays/

Researchers at Oxford University have used a type of phase-change material to make devices whose color changes instantly in response to a small jolt of power. The materials, which are used in some types of DVDs, could lead to ultra-low-power full-color displays, according to an article describing the work in the journal Nature.

Displays made using the approach might overcome some of the drawbacks of other low-energy display technologies, such as the E-ink used in Kindle e-readers. For example, pixels can switch on and off much faster than in the e-reader, which could make it useful for displaying video.