Multi-particle electrophoretic display having low-flash image updates

An electrophoretic display comprising:

• a light-transmissive electrode;
• an active matrix backplane comprising a plurality of pixel electrodes, each pixel electrode being coupled to a thin-film transistor comprising a gate line and a source line, and each pixel electrode being coupled to a storage capacitor;
• an electrophoretic medium disposed between the light-transmissive electrode and the active matrix backplane, wherein the electrophoretic medium includes at least three different types of charged pigment particles;
• a controller coupled to a plurality of gate lines of the plurality of pixel electrodes and to a plurality of source lines of the plurality of pixel electrodes, the controller being configured to address the pixel electrodes in a row-by-row fashion;
• the controller further being configured to update an image on the electrophoretic display by performing the following steps:
• address a first row of pixel electrodes by providing a first gate voltage at a first time;
• address a second row of pixel electrodes by providing a second gate voltage at a second time;
• address the first row of pixel electrodes by providing a third gate voltage at a third time;
• address the second row of pixel electrodes by providing a fourth gate voltage at a fourth time;
• and
• address the first row of pixel electrodes by providing a fifth gate voltage at a fifth time,
• wherein the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth times are not the same, and a time elapsed between the first time and the third time is shorter than a time elapsed between the third time and the fifth time;
• and
• wherein the controller simultaneously provides a first source voltage to a pixel of the first row of pixel electrodes at the first time and a second source voltage to the pixel of the first row of pixel electrodes at the third time, and the polarity of the first source voltage and the polarity of the second source voltage are opposite.