LG Display Solar e-Book Reader Unveiled [New LG Eco-Friendly e-Book with Solar Cell Offers A Day’s Reading Based on 4-5 Hours in Sunlight]

What with e-Book readers being hot news right now, LG Display’s announcement that they have developed a solar powered e-Book reader that, thanks to the integration of a solar cell measuring in at a mere 0.7 millimetres in thickness (less than a credit card) and weighing just 20 grams, can provide enough power within 4-5 hours of sunlight exposure to power the book for an entire day’s reading was sure to get especially wide coverage.

According to LG Display’s press release, their new solar cell, which ‘is produced by placing electrodes onto a glass or plastic substrate’ rather than utilising the traditional crystalline solar cells employing silicon wafers is not just especially suited for use with devices such as e-books but could also find applications in the cell phone market thanks to their thin-film solar cells being particularly light weight in nature (traditional solar cells, as you’ll be aware, are pretty bulky making them not especially suited for such devices as they add to weight and impact on the product’s overall design to an overly large extent).

LG Display’s Press Release:

The thin-film solar cell featured in the e-book measures 10 centimeters in width and length, it was developed to perfectly fit the 6-inch display panel for e-book currently mass produced by LG Display. The solar cell measures 0.7 millimeter in thickness and weighs a mere 20 grams, the less thickness of a credit card and the weight of a fountain pen.

The thin-film solar cell is produced by placing electrodes onto a glass or plastic substrate. Contrary to widely adopted crystalline solar cells that employ silicon wafers, the thin-film solar cell is generally light-weight and easily adjustable in size and form for applications such as e-books or mobile phones.

The current energy conversion efficiency rate of this product is approximately 9.6 percent. Exposure to sunlight for about four to five hours would extend the running time of the e-book’s battery by a day without the need for additional charging. This would allow longer outdoor use of the e-book and lessens worries about battery discharging.

Mr. Ki Yong Kim, head of the Solar Cell Office at LG Display noted, “E-books are attracting a lot of attention because they offer the advantage of storing thousands of books’ worth of contents in an easy-to-carry device. The idea of e-book combined with solar cell will offer users the added benefit of longer usage. We will continue to provide users with enhanced convenience and value to solidify our lead in next-generation, environmentally friendly products.”

LG Display previously had announced plans to nurture its thin-film solar cell business as a future growth driver. The company aims to raise the energy conversion efficiency rate to 12% by 2010, and eventually achieve efficiency rate of 14% in 2012 to prepare for commercialization.