Stable, Efficient, Large Area WOLED

In 2001, lighting is estimated to consume 8.2 quads (approximately 762 TWh), or about 22% of the total electricity generated in the U.S. New, high-efficiency, solid-state light sources, such as light emitting diodes (LEDS) and organic LEDs (OLEDs), are needed to help reduce the ever increasing demand for energy. Today, OLED technology is the leading emerging technology for flat panel displays (FPDs), with recent product introductions in cell phones. Many of the same features that make FPDs desirable also are making OLED technology of great interest to the solid-state lighting community. Although an OLED is potentially an inexpensive diffuse source that could compete with conventional incandescent light sources, improvements in the overall efficiency of these devices will be required before they become commercially viable products and attain the expected cost ($3 per 1000 lumens) and performance (150 lumens per watt) goals. This project will develop novel OLED fabrication techniques to enable highly efficient, stable, organic, solid-state, lighting sources to replace short-lifetime ,12 lm/W incandescent sources. Additionally, the research will support future work to attain OLEDs having 150 lm/W power efficacy. Commercial Applications and other benefits as described by the awardee: By providing excellent power efficiency at low voltages, OLEDs should become cost effective in general lighting applications, and hence reduce overall energy consumption in the U.S.