US OLED lighting industry accelerates progress

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 28 Sep 2010

In the US Armstrong World Industries (AWI) and Universal Display Corporation (UDC) have produced a lighting system using OLED panels, integrated into a commercial ceiling fixture.

The fixture is the result of a two-year project, funded by the Department of Energy (DoE), to develop a demonstrator.

The lighting system consists of UDC's 58lm/W phosphorescent OLED lamps, or panels, integrated into AWI's commercial ceiling system, called TechZone. AWI is a leading supplier of floors, ceilings and cabinets for offices and other types of buildings.

In the fixture each luminaire, consisting of four 15 x 15cm OLED panels, fits in the TechZone system's modular structure.

AWI collaborates with lighting and luminaire companies to integrate fluorescent and other types of lighting into ceiling systems, which also include sprinkler and air conditioners for clients such as designers and architects.

Partners include Acuity Brands Lighting, one of the largest luminaire companies in the US. In a separate project, Acuity Brands is working with UDC to guide the company in its development of OLED technology for commercial lighting markets.

Collaboration

The collaboration between the companies is occurring under a recently embarked-upon application-focused project, with $2 million (€1.47 million) in funding from the DoE. The aim is to develop an OLED luminaire for high-end commercial and institutional building applications.

The DoE is also part-funding a pilot production line that can produce OLED panels based on UDC's IP, using vacuum processing technology. Moser Baer, an India-headquartered firm that processes silicon for solar and other industries, is building the line in the US.

In July 2010 scientists at GE Research revealed it had created a 56lm/W OLED panel, with a commercially viable lifetime, made by solution-coating materials on a proprietary roll-to-roll production process.

GE Research, also a recipient of grant support from the DoE, and its Japanese partner Konica Minolta plan to manufacture OLED lights using high-speed, roll-to-roll processes, rather than the vacuum-based batch processes used by UDC and other developers in the OLED display industry.

Once the technique is proven further, the work by GE Research will be transferred to GE Lighting, one of the corporation's commercial businesses.

+Plastic Electronics magazine provides exclusive, high-value content for the printed, plastic and organic electronics industry. To sign up for your copy immediately, click the link below, contact publications@pira-international.com or visit our subscriptions page.