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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
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High-Efficiency White TOLED Devices for Lighting Applications (Phase II)

Investigating Organization

Universal Display Corp.

Principal Investigator(s)

Michael Lu

Subcontractor

Princeton University

Funding Source

Small Business Innovation Research

Award

DOE Share: $750,000

Contract Period

07/13/05 - 07/10/07

In Phase II of this SBIR, UDC and Princeton University will demonstrate high-power-efficiency white transparent OLED (TOLED) lighting panels. The team will continue to develop white TOLEDs focusing on maximizing efficiency and transparency through less absorbing organic and conducting oxide layers. In addition, the team will optimize monolithically encapsulated TOLEDs.

The reason for implementing monolithic thin film encapsulation is to reduce the optical loss at the OLED-to-air interface. UDC will demonstrate the potential for stacking TOLED/OLED and TOLED/TOLED together to create high luminous intensity lighting panels or transparent lighting panels. All of these activities are working toward realizing a 20% increase in optical outcoupling. We believe that Phase I results have clearly demonstrated that the approach of using a TOLED within an optical reflector has the potential to achieve enhanced optical outcoupling for white light sources. Specific technical issues identified during Phase I included that the efficiency of the TOLED device could be increased through better engineered cathodes, and that further development of the overall design of the TOLED within the reflector cavity is required to fully assess the potential for using white TOLEDs for general illumination.

Specifically, the key objectives of Phase II are:

  1. Demonstrate improved TOLED device performance by using IZO (replacing ITO) as the transparent conducting oxide in the transparent cathode.

  2. Demonstrate a combined efficiency transparency product by improved TOLED layer designs.

  3. Implement a monolithic thin film TOLED encapsulation to enhance light extraction.

  4. Optimize the thickness of all the layers in the TOLED to maximize light output by microcavity modeling.

  5. Demonstrate high luminous output stacked TOLED/OLED or TOLED/OLED with appropriate index-matching gel/adhesive.

  6. Stimulate, design, and fabricate a TOLED/OLED with a parabolic dish reflector lamp.

  7. Fabricate deliverable: a 6x6 white TOLED lighting prototype CRI>75, CIE coordinates similar to that of a blackbody radiator at a color temperature between 2,500 K and 6,000 K, and power efficiency >25 lm/W at lighting luminance levels of 1,000 cd/m2.