Our Technology

Low Power, Colour Changing Ink

Halion has developed a novel liquid ink material which can rapidly change between two colours. The change is actuated with an electric field applied across the ink. Very little power is needed to change the colour, and even less to maintain it.

Fast Molecular Interactions

Charged particles within the ink carry custom colour changing molecules. When the particles are in contact, the ink changes colour. When an electric field is applied, the particles are pulled out of contact in just a few milliseconds, reversing the colour change.

Colour Changing Film

In a typical device our ink is applied between two conductive substrates. The substrates may be simple conductive films, or patterned TFT substrates. The ink only changes colour where an electric field is present.

Selective Absorption

Most materials around us absorb some of the colours of light that fall on them, and reflect or transmit the rest. Halion’s colour changing ink gives surfaces the ability to mimic this behaviour, either by absorbing or not absorbing certain colours in real time. The ink technology can be applied to both opaque and transparent surfaces.

Full Colour, Video Capable

Just as print media uses a combination of cyan, magenta and yellow inks to produce a broad range of colours, Halion’s ink technology can make use of the same subtractive colour scheme. By combining three layers of ink, each of which switches between colourless and one of these three colours, any colour can be produced on the fly. From black and white to soft pastels and rich hues, all at over 60Hz refresh rate.