LG Chem and Universal Display Corporation today announced that they have signed a non-exclusive joint development agreement to accelerate the commercialization of high-performance OLED materials for use in OLED displays and lighting products. The collaboration will focus on combining LG Chem's electron transport and hole injection materials with Universal Display's phosphorescent OLED emitter materials and technology.
Universal Display's proprietary PHOLED technology offers up to four times higher efficiency than conventional OLED technology - a feature that is very important for today's battery-operated cell phones and other portable devices, as well as for tomorrow's large-area TV's and solid-state lighting products.
LG Chem has developed OLED transport materials that lead to reduced operating voltage. By combining LG Chem's transport materials with Universal Display's PHOLED emitters, high efficiency as well as low voltage can be achieved.
Based on previous work with LG Chem materials, Universal Display has demonstrated a red PHOLED device with a luminous efficiency of 17 cd/A, an operating voltage of 4.8 V and an operating lifetime of 150,000 hours to 50% of initial luminance (at 1,000 nits) and a green PHOLED with 64 cd/A, 3.9 V and 250,000 hours (at 1,000 nits). Through this new agreement, the companies plan to accelerate their collaboration to combine and optimize higher performance materials for OLED device manufacturers.
"We believe that this collaboration agreement with Universal Display Corporation will provide a great opportunity to accelerate the progress of OLED materials that has been pursued extensively. The significance of this agreement is evident as it is a collaboration of two companies that are committed to providing innovative solutions to their customers," said Dr. Jin-Nyoung Yoo, Executive Vice President and President of LG Chem, Ltd./Research Park. "Furthermore, we consider the development of the phosphorescent and high performance transport materials to be of a great importance not only for a more clear distinction of the OLED materials from the current flat panel displays, but also for a future entry of such materials in the high efficiency lighting product market."
"We are honored to be formalizing our collaboration with LG Chem, a world-class chemical company and leading supplier of OLED materials, to accelerate the development of new high-performance OLED materials," said Steven V. Abramson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Display. "We believe it is important to OLED manufacturers that technology and material suppliers work together to provide the optimal material systems and technology to help accelerate the commercialization of OLEDs."
Universal Display is currently marketing and selling its PHOLED emitter materials and licensing its PHOLED technology for commercial use and evaluation. LG Chem is also selling a line of OLED materials including electron transport and hole injection materials for use with PHOLEDs. The OLED materials that result from this collaboration are expected to become available from Universal Display and LG Chem for evaluation and commercial use in the future.
