SBIR Phase I: High-efficiency and Stable Nanocomposite Light Emitting Diode

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a new type of bright and stable nanophosphors for light emitting diode (LED) applications. Polymeric LED (PLED) has the superior imaging performance, compact, lightweight properties, and versatile and cost-effective solution processability; and thus is setting to replace liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and cathode ray tubes (CRTs) in many existing applications, as well as open up exciting possibilities for new product forms and applications. However, PLED has the drawback of limited emitting colors, broad and red tailed emission peak, low efficiency, and short lifetime. In Phase I, hybrid PLED device will be assembled and tested by embedding the nanophosphors into wide band-gap phosphorescent polymer. The operation of the device will largely rely on the energy transfer from host polymer to the guest nanophosphors. Taking the advantages of the high brightness and high stability of the nanophosphors to be developed in this SBIR project, the hybrid PLED devices would have low-cost and the high performance (i.e. efficiency, lifetime, and color quality) that would meet or even exceed the standards as required for commercialization. If successful some of the major impacts for the outcome of this project will be (1) the enabling of more extensive use of PLEDs in the electronic devices such as portable computers, cellular telephone, hand-held biosensors, and large area displaying screen, (2) engendering entirely new display products, for example, the transparent LED (TLED), which could be used in windshield displays, heads-up instrumentation for aircraft and automobiles, office windows doubled as display screen, (3) fabrication of high efficiency white PLED as lighting resources to replace the mercury-based lighting devices, and (4) generation of a new type of nanophosphors materials.