Printed black internal conducting electrodes for flexible bistable cholesteric displays

We report flexible, bistable cholesteric displays utilizing polyester (PET) substrates with printed internal black electrodes. The black electrodes consist of carbon ink dispersed in butyl carbitol using a patented roll-to-roll gravure-offset printing. A transparent conducting polymer printed on PET serves as the counter electrode. The electro-optic material is a chiral nematic mixture dispersed in a low-concentration polymer binder. The device can be switched between scattering (black) and reflective (vibrant green) states upon application of an electric pulse. The internal black electrode enhances the contrast of the display and simplifies the roll-to-roll manufacture of flexible displays.