Enhanced Light Outcoupling in WOLEDs

Lighting consumes approximately 22% of the total electricity generated in the U.S. To reduce this energy use, new high-efficiency solid-state light sources, such as Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), are needed. An OLED is potentially an inexpensive diffuse source that would complete directly with, and offer a ¿green¿ alternative to, conventional light sources. However, improvements in the overall efficiency of these devices are required before they can become commercially viable products and attain expected goals for cost ($3 per 1000 lumens) and performance (150 im/W). This project will utilize novel outcoupling enhancement features in OLED architectures to enable highly-efficient solid-state lighting sources to replace short-lifetime incandescent sources. Phase I demonstrated that the integration of a low index grid into the OLED device enhanced light outcoupling. Using non-optimized materials, a 15% increase in device light output was achieved. During Phase II, the low index grid will be optimized to obtain a 40% outcoupling enhancement. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: Today, OLED technology is the leading emerging technology for flat panel displays (FEDs), with recent product introductions in cell phones and TV¿s. Many of the features desired for FPDs are also making OLED technology of great interest to the solid-state lighting community. Because OLEDs are bright and thin, with desirable color rendering indices and excellent power efficiency at low voltages, they are expected to provide significant energy savings for general lighting