US Department of Energy funds OLED innovation research program

The US Department of Energy announced on May 7 local time that it will provide four funding as part of a small business innovation research program. The announced funding will also be used for OLED projects. The four companies that have received funding are litecontrol, plextronics, innosys and universal display.

The litecontrols project is known as the innovative OLED light source system for professional lighting applications, and the company is currently developing a range of OLED fixtures for corridors and public spaces where color rendering is critical.

Universal display is developing low-energy panel lights for aircraft cabins and is expected to be available in 2015. The company is currently working with idd aerospace on a “new energy-saving phosphorescent oled lighting product” project.

Innosys is about to embark on a project called "Efficient and Intelligent Phosphorescent Oled Lamp Panel Power", which aims to extend oled technology to mainstream lighting in residential, commercial and industrial environments.

The plextronics project focuses on reducing the cost of large-area OLED panels, which is the biggest obstacle to the promotion of OLED technology. Its "Low-cost printed electrodes for OLED luminaires" project plans to use inkjet technology and conductive silver ink to simplify the manufacturing process of the anode structure. The technology is said to increase manufacturing yields by eliminating certain lithography processes.

It is reported that the Ministry of Energy will continue to provide financial support for LED research. The US Department of Energy's solid-state lighting program is focused on energy-saving technologies in lighting applications, and the Department of Energy also highlighted a substantial role in the development of solid-state lighting in a National Academy of Sciences report.