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New Standards for OLEDs:
This is a big step toward energy-saving OLED lighting with efficiency of more than 60 lm/W; International standard for white color requirements met. BASF and OSRAM Opto Semiconductors have developed a highly efficient white organic light-emitting diode (OLED). For the first time, an OLED not only is able to achieve a light yield of more than 60 lumens per watt (lm/W), but also, at the same time, meets the international Energy Star SSL Standard with regard to color requirements.
Lighting efficiency describes the ratio of luminous flux given off by a lamp to the amount of power consumed; the greater the yield, the less energy is lost. Although this efficiency benchmark had previously been achieved, until now the color values of OLEDs have not been within the acceptable band for color coordinates around the Planck curve, as defined by the Energy Star SSL Standard. The color values of the new OLED are within this band , its light retains the white color at different levels of intensity.
The new OLEDs contain phosphorescent metal complexes as emitter materials and customized complementary materials, which ensure optimum constancy of the color temperatures. That means that, owing to the use of new materials, the diodes are very color-stable even when there are variations in luminous intensity. The challenge now is to optimize the life of these OLED tiles, especially by stabilizing the blue emitters.
Beyond luminous efficiency, OLEDs offer even more convincing advantages. Unlike conventional filament bulbs, they do not become hot when emitting light, and less energy is lost through radiated heat. The laboratory results show that the new OLEDs are five times as efficient as filament bulbs and up to 50 percent more efficient compared with standard low-energy lamps. OLEDs consume much less electricity than conventional sources of light, so consumers in the future will be able to cut their electricity costs with OLEDs. OSRAM and BASF believe that they have moved closer towards commercial OLED lighting with the devlopment of a white OLED with a high light yield but now need to optimize the life of these OLED tiles, especially by stabilizing the blue emitters.
"The challenge now lies with the process engineers to apply these high efficiencies economically to large active areas," says Dr. Heuser.
BASF reached an important milestone in OLED research a few years ago. White light from OLEDs can best be obtained by combining red, green and blue light. For a long time there was no efficient source for deep-blue light. BASF and OSRAM are conducting research together within the framework of the "OLEDs for Applications on the Lighting Market" (OPAL) project. The OPAL project is being sponsored as part of the OLED Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).
References: Osram; Universal Display Corporation