A magnetic-particles display

A new type of flat-panel ambient-illuminated display is described. Images in this display are formed by magnetically controlling the orientations of small spherical multicolored magnetic particles. A demonstration model is shown and the possibility for application to television is studied. It is estimated that for a 9 × 12-cm black-and-white screen with built-in magnetic memory and 500 × 500 sequential matrix addressing the display panel can be driven at TV rates with an average current of 0.27 A and dissipation of 0.26 W. Contrast ratios up to 40:1 seem achievable with continuously variable grays. The display also features a nonvolatile memory which can be very desirable for some applications. Methods for fabricating this display are also discussed.