Ultra-Thin Flexible LED Lighting Panels

SSL lighting panels based on inorganic LEDs are fairly efficient (80-130 lm/W) but lack the thin and flexible forms which severely limits the design options and further cost reduction. Organic LEDs (OLEDs) can be readily formed on flexible film substrates but have much lower efficacy (40-60 lm/W for commercial panels) and >100 times higher $/lm cost than inorganic LEDs. The proposed project will develop and demonstrate a revolutionary new type of thin and flexible SSL panel that combines the high luminous efficacy and low cost of inorganic LEDs with the ultrathin form factor and flexibility of OLEDs. The proposed approach extends the principle of edge-lit LED lighting to film-thickness optical light guides to obtain a thin, conformable illumination panel that emits a soft, uniform beam from its entire surface area. It employs a novel optical coupling technology that allows for efficient injecting light into light-guiding substrates having much smaller thicknesses than the size of LED sources. This material-efficient approach for manufacturing lighting panels is also expected to lower the cost of wide-area LED luminaires by up to 30% compared to the state of the art. In Phase I, we will conduct a feasibility study of the highly flexible film-based LED lighting panel demonstrating a much lower cost and higher-efficacy alternative to OLEDs, develop a functional pilot prototype and evaluate its performance. With the subsequent product development in Phase II and commercialization in Phase III, we will make viable creating a wide array of ultra-low-cost LED-based luminaires having innovative shapes and attractive designs. Key Words: light emitting diodes, energy efficiency in buildings, lighting luminaires, light extraction, beam directionality.