A €5.1 million project starting next month is developing next-generation systems for intelligent OLED lighting.
OLEDs have the potential to be integrated into compact lighting systems where the entire array can be controlled. Applications range from ceiling lighting systems, where the array can be dimmed or made brighter, depending on where people are in the room.
The three-year Imola project will create a large-area OLED lighting module with built-in control and sensor electronics. Partners include Philips in Germany, NXP Semiconductors in the Netherlands and Belgium, Henkel Electronic Materials in Belgium, and Hanita Coatings in Israel.
Demonstrator
The front side of the module will consist of OLED tiles attached and interconnected to a flexible backplane foil. In the initial phase of the project individual glass as well as foil OLED tiles will be used, but eventually OLED tiles fabricated on a roll will be laminated and connected to the backplane.
The backplane module will include integrated driver electronics to control the brightness of the individual OLED tiles, while a discrete smart power chip will convert a single 40V supply voltage into a controllable direct current (DC) for each tile. The chip employs an external inductor embedded in the backplane foil.
The smart power chip also allows for the integration of dense CMOS circuitry, for extra functionality and intelligence. This means optical feedback can compensate for any OLED degradation effects. The module will also be equipped to enable intelligent brightness control from a central unit.
+Plastic Electronics will be appearing at the OLEDs World Summit 2011 conference on 26-28 September in San Francisco, California, the US.
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Imola
The three-year project will develop intelligent OLED lighting modules
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OLEDs World Summit 2011
+Plastic Electronics will be appearing at the forthcoming OLEDs World Summit on 26-28 September in California, US
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OLED lighting means business
The OLED lighting market is largely unproven. While there are products on the market, they are almost exclusively the work of innovative designers selling individual products at significantly higher costs than other lighting technologies
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