Answers.Body: <p>E-ink displays have to be mounted on a surface. In this case I assume that was done on the glass. This keeps the E-ink nice and flat (good for equal visibility of all pixels) and for extra reflectiveness of ambient light, if the glass is part of a mirror (as it seems to be).</p>
  
  <p>The display is actually a <a href="http://www.eink.com/modules.html" rel="nofollow">thin film transistor array</a> and my guess is that if the supporting glass breaks, some of the circuitry of the thin film get ripped. A single rip across the width or height would make addressing the film <strong>as an array</strong> impossible.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2013-12-29T05:55:50.353Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2013-12-29T05:55:50.353Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Anthon
Body: <p>I've recently seen two great tutorials that disassemble the Kindle 3 for repairing. One is this great <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-your-broken-Kindle-Keyboard-Screen/?ALLSTEPS" rel="noreferrer">Fix your broken Kindle Keyboard Screen</a> tutorial by ghwhitcher, and the other is the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BhTqbslijc" rel="noreferrer">Amazon Kindle 3 Take-apart Guide</a> by Powerbook Medic.</p>
  
  <p>Both warn that on the display's back there is an <strong><em>extremely</em></strong>&nbsp;<strong>fragile layer of glass</strong>. ghwhitcher says that it is <em>only kept unbroken for normal operation because the kindle3's case is strong enough to protect it to some degree</em>. He actually broke it first, even with being careful I suppose, when disassembling&mdash;he warns.</p>
  
  <p>My question is, what does this glass do? I mean, why does it screw the <em>entire</em> display part if it gets broken? What is this glass' function as part of the screen module?</p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p>illustration taken from the tutorial:</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/sfb4G.jpg" alt="broken kindle"></p>
  
Tags: <kindle><e-ink><hardware><display>
Title: What does the extremely fragile glass do in Kindle3's pearl e-ink display?
UserDisplayName: n611x007
ThreadText: # What does the extremely fragile glass do in Kindle3's pearl e-ink display?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2013-12-28)
  
  I've recently seen two great tutorials that disassemble the Kindle 3 for repairing. One is this great [Fix your broken Kindle Keyboard Screen](http://www.instructables.com/id/Fix-your-broken-Kindle-Keyboard-Screen/?ALLSTEPS) tutorial by ghwhitcher, and the other is the [Amazon Kindle 3 Take-apart Guide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BhTqbslijc) by Powerbook Medic.
  
  Both warn that on the display's back there is an ***extremely*** **fragile layer of glass**. ghwhitcher says that it is *only kept unbroken for normal operation because the kindle3's case is strong enough to protect it to some degree*. He actually broke it first, even with being careful I suppose, when disassembling—he warns.
  
  My question is, what does this glass do? I mean, why does it screw the *entire* display part if it gets broken? What is this glass' function as part of the screen module?
  
  ---
  
  illustration taken from the tutorial:
  
  ![broken kindle](https://i.sstatic.net/sfb4G.jpg)
  
  **Tags:** kindle, e-ink, hardware, display
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2013-12-29. Score: 5 | Accepted answer
  
  E-ink displays have to be mounted on a surface. In this case I assume that was done on the glass. This keeps the E-ink nice and flat (good for equal visibility of all pixels) and for extra reflectiveness of ambient light, if the glass is part of a mirror (as it seems to be).
  
  The display is actually a [thin film transistor array](http://www.eink.com/modules.html) and my guess is that if the supporting glass breaks, some of the circuitry of the thin film get ripped. A single rip across the width or height would make addressing the film **as an array** impossible.
  
  
  ---
  
  