OLED projects

ONE-P (Organic Nanomaterials for Electronics and Photonics: Design, Synthesis, Characterisation, Processing, Fabrication and Applications) is a collaboration of 28 organizations, funded mostly by the EU Commission 7th framework programme (18M euro out of 26M). 

The project has several objectives in the area of organic semiconductors. One of them is the development of a new generation of light emitter materials for OLED architectures and light-emitting field-effects transistors.

One-P's web site

So-Light is a German project that aims to develop OLED displays and lighting applications - including new materials (transport materials, redox dopants, triplet-emitters, matrix materials), new optical technologies for guided light distribution, characterizing lighting application aspects of OLEDs and process technologies for Small Molecule OLEDs. So-Light will also generate studies on applications and demonstrators, and will also work on integrating technologies for application areas such as automotive, architecture and backlight units for large displays).

The project's cost is 14.7 Million Euro, and is supported by the German BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research).

So-Light project partners are: Novaled AG (Dresden), Sensient Imaging Technologies GmbH (Bitterfeld-Wolfen), Fraunhofer IPMS (Dresden), LEDON OLED Lighting GmbH & Co. KG (Dresden), Aixtron AG (Aachen), Fresnel Optics GmbH (Apolda), Hella KGaA Hueck & Co (Lippstadt), Siteco Beleuchtungstechnik GmbH (Traunreut), AEG-MIS mbH (Ulm), Universität Paderborn/L-LAB (Paderborn) and the Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster (Münster).

The goal of the CombOLED project, a European funded research and development project, is to combine new device structures, advantageous manufacturing approaches and less complex materials with the aim to achieve cost effective OLED lighting solutions. The cost reduction, together with transparency as a device feature, will enable a huge penetration of the organic light-emitting device (OLED) technology into the lighting market. The project is lead by OSRAM Opto  Semiconductors.

CombOLED has recently shown a transparent, white OLED prototype (5x5 cm2). 

CombOLED also sponsored an OLED lighting design contest.

CombOLED's web page

Fast2Light is an integrated (9 companies, 3 research institutes and 2 universities) R&D project that aims to research and develop light emitting foils based on OLED tech. The overall objective of Fast2Light is to develop novel, cost-effective, high-throughput, roll-to-roll, large area deposition processes for fabricating light-emitting polymer-OLED foils for intelligent lighting applications.

All layers that are part of a large area lighting foil will be addressed starting with the substrate choice, and introducing high-throughput deposition and patterning methods for all of the materials necessary to fabricate the final lighting foil. Ultimately, the project will demonstrate a 30cm x 30cm, high quality lighting foil, manufactured with new optimised, disruptive R2R processes. While the project will focus on polymers, the platforms developed will be fully compatible with SMOLEDs. 

In April 2008, we interviewed the Project's manager, Mary Kilitziraki.

Fast2Light's web page

Project TOPLESS (Thin Organic Polymeric Light Emitting Semi-conductor Surfaces) is a three year £3.3M project,  sponsored by the UK government (50%). It comprises a consortium of Thorn Lighting (UK largest lighting company), Sumation UK and the University of Durham (Department of Physics and Chemistry).

The aim of the project is to product a high quality white light generating single polymer, and efficient large area single pixel device architectures.

TOPLESS project OLED lamp prototype 2008

• An efficacy of 20Lm per watt
• Colour temperature suitable for general white light applications (this varies according to customer requirements) between 2,700K to 17,000K.
• Large single pixel devices (no buzz bars)
• Minimal number of organic layers

TOPLESS will run till February 2010. In June 2008 we interviewed Dr. Geoff Williams, the project manager.

In December 2008, TOPLESS showed a prototype lamp. The efficiency is about 17Lm/W (as there is no out-coupling. With out-coupling the efficiency is over 30Lm/W), each panel operating at 3W. The panels are just 0.7mm thick, made by Sumation with TOPLESS materials

Modecom (Modelling Electroactive Conjugated Materials at the Multiscale)is a €1.3M three-year project undertaken by an international consortium of researchers covering 3 continents which could help bring to mass market OLED lighting.

This research will also aid the understanding of solar cells. Solar cells, or photovoltaics, convert light to electricity and are used to power many devices, from calculators to satellites.

Other areas being studied by Modecom are the polymer materials used in plastic electronics and sensors in applications such as electronic paper and intelligent labels on groceries.

Modecom is funded by the European Union Framework 6. 

The OLLA project was a EU project, funded by the EU's 6th framework. OLLA's aim was to research and develop high brightness, high efficient white OLEDs and demonstrate its use in general lighting applications. The OLLA consortium consists of 24 partners from 8 European countries, lead by Philips Lighting.

OLLA White OLED (10x10 cm2)

At the end of the project (June 2008), the OLLA consortium presents its final milestone: the basic technology for a white OLED light source, with an efficacy of 50.7 lumens per watt at an initial brightness of 1.000 cd/m² based on the Novaled PIN OLED technology.

OLED100.eu is OLLA's follow up project, started in 2008.

OLLA's web page