Collaboration between Energy Micro, and Pervasive Displays (PDI) will utilise Gecko MCU technology to control low power e-paper (EPD) displays. The joint effort will enable developers to reduce development time for applications based on the energy friendly EFM32 EPD platform.
Electronic paper is the lowest power display technology because the devices do not consume energy after they have been updated, however long the image is displayed. PDI’s e-paper displays, which are ruggedly designed for industrial and commercial applications, reflect light like ordinary paper, making them easy to read in both outdoor and indoor applications. They are currently available in sizes from 1.44-inch to 10.2-inch (37mm to 260mm), the largest with a resolution of 1280 by 1024 (160dpi).
The Gecko MCU features a mix of ultra low-power and high processing capabilities based on a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 processor. The MCU was selected for the e-paper because of its low active power of 180µA/MHz at 3V with standby modes, down to 20nA at 3V in shut-off mode, which are instrumental in enabling the low energy consumption characteristics of the display.
The MCU features efficient energy modes, a low energy UART and a Peripheral Reflex System that make it a suitable controller for e-paper applications. The MCU delivers processing power needed to refresh the EPD display very quickly.
Energy Micro
