Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing of Large Area Electroluminescent Displays and Illuminators

大面积电致发光显示器和照明器的环保制造

• 批准号: 9528731
• 负责人: Fotios Papadimitrakopoulos
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Connecticut
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-01-01 至 1998-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9528731&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Environmentally; Conscious; Manufacturing; Large; Area

9528731 Papadimitrakopoulos Recent manufacturing breakthroughs in lightweight, low-power light sources made at E-Lite Technologies, Inc., using polymer encapsulated ZnS:Cu/Mn phosphor materials, gave substantially improved their flexibility and allowed a cost-efficient coil-form production. Based on similar phosphor (ZnS), employing a more rigorous all-inorganic ZnS-based approach, multi-color electroluminescent (EL) flat panel displays are being manufactured at Westinghouse-Norden Systems. This proposal seeks to develop an environmentally conscious, solvent-free processing of large area ZnS:Cu/ electroluminescent illuminators. The present technology employs 85 weight % solvent (a mixture of methyl ethyl ketone and N-methyl pyrrolidone) to disperse the active EL ingredients and the polymeric binders. Subsequent evaporation of the solvents poses environmental difficulties. The proposed process would be based on 100% photopolymerizable monomers along with electrostatic phosphor deposition. This would allow the manufacture of high quality EL films without the requirements of any solvent. In addition, we propose to enhance light out-coupling efficiency (with 50-100% increase in brightness) as a result of "medium-transparent" EL particles. This novel process would involve matching the refractive indices of the EL ZnS:Cu/Mn particles with that of the binder polymer matrix. The refractive index of the polymer matrix would be substantially increased by incorporation of nano- sized high refractive index, non-emitting inorganic nanoparticles, such as GaP and A1GaP. The entire procedure can be applied by a supercritical CO2 process, followed by ultra- violet curing. The proposed process would not only increase the brightness and lifetime of EL lamps, but it would also allow pixelation to realize flat-panel displays. This will enhance the competitiveness of thin-film EL against upcoming competing technologies, such as organic EL. In addition, the novel, environmentally friendly and cost effective processing techniques and high efficiency structures would provide the technological edge to compete in the large display market that is forecasted to grow over two hundred billion dollars during the next five years. The background of principal investigators at UConn, E-Lite Technologies Inc. and Westinghouse Norden Systems, as well as the availability of complementary research laboratories and production facilities makes the proposed research a natural collaborative endeavor. ***

9528731 Papadimitrakopoulos最近在E-Lite Technologies，Inc.制造的轻型、低功率光源方面取得的突破，使用聚合物封装的锌铜锰荧光粉材料，大大提高了它们的灵活性，并允许具有成本效益的线圈状生产。西屋-诺登系统公司正在制造基于类似荧光粉(ZnS)、采用更严格的全无机硫化锌方法的多色电致发光(EL)平板显示器。这项提议旨在开发一种环保的、无溶剂的大面积ZnS：Cu/电致发光光源的工艺。本技术使用85%重量%的溶剂(甲乙酮和N-甲基吡咯烷酮的混合物)来分散活性EL组分和聚合物粘结剂。随后溶剂的蒸发会给环境带来困难。建议的工艺将基于100%可光聚合单体以及静电磷光体沉积。这将允许在不需要任何溶剂的情况下制造高质量的EL薄膜。此外，我们还建议通过使用中等透明的EL粒子来提高光输出耦合效率(亮度提高50%-100%)。这一新工艺将包括将EL-ZnS：Cu/Mn颗粒的折射率与粘结剂聚合物基质的折射率进行匹配。纳米高折射率、不发光的无机纳米粒子如GaP和AlGaP的加入将显著提高聚合物基质的折射率。整个过程可以通过超临界二氧化碳工艺应用，然后进行紫外线固化。拟议的工艺不仅将提高电致发光灯具的亮度和寿命，而且还将允许像素化实现平板显示器。这将提高薄膜电致发光相对于即将到来的竞争技术的竞争力，例如有机电致发光。此外，新颖、环保且具有成本效益的处理技术和高效率结构将提供技术优势，在未来五年内预计将增长超过2000亿美元的大型显示器市场上展开竞争。康涅狄格州大学、E-Lite技术公司和西屋诺登系统公司的主要研究人员的背景，以及补充研究实验室和生产设施的可用性，使拟议的研究成为一项自然的合作努力。***