LG develops solar panel for e-book reader

by **JAHANGEER** 21st May 2010, 6:39 pm

South Korea's LG Display has developed a solar
panel for an e-book reader.

The
panel is 10 centimeters in width and length and has been combined with a
Sony Reader electronic book to prove the concept, according to a photo
issued by the South Korean company.
A
working prototype of the panel and e-book reader will be on show at the
International Meeting on Information Display (IMID) than runs this week
in Seoul.

The cell is less
than a millimeter thick and weighs just 20 grams so won't significantly
increase the weight of an electronic book reader.
E-book readers already offer a long battery life
because their electronic paper displays draw power only when the page is
being turned so the addition of a solar panel could mean regular
readers never have to worry about charging the devices again.

Exposure to sunlight for four or five
hours would provide enough power to run the e-book reader for a day,
said LG Display.

The solar
panel used in the prototype has an efficiency of 9.6 percent and LG is
aiming to increase this to 12 percent next year and 14 percent by 2012
at which time it should be read for commercialization.