I-Corps: Materials for Organic Light Emitting Diodes

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是在节能固态照明的竞技场。据估计，美国20%的电力用于照明。与白炽灯或荧光灯相比，固态照明使用更少的能源来产生相同数量的有效照明。此外，它既不会造成释放元素汞的环境风险，也不需要像紧凑型荧光灯泡那样限制处置。有机发光二极管（OLED）比由易碎的无机材料制成的简单发光二极管（LED）更节能和更灵活。OLED的效率比白炽灯泡高90%，并且有潜力提高98%。因此，OLED技术有可能大大降低照明成本和相关的发电量，防止数十亿吨二氧化碳释放到大气中。OLED屏幕正在稳步取代其他技术用于便携式，电池供电的设备，如手机，笔记本电脑和平板电脑，以及在电视，飞机驾驶舱，和汽车。这个I-Corps项目解决了当前OLED设备在用于产生蓝光的材料方面的技术瓶颈。目前使用的材料具有荧光发射，这需要更高的电压，导致更大的能量消耗，更多的热量产生，以及设备中材料的更快击穿。目前的制造商已经通过使用蓝色材料层进行了调整，该材料层的厚度是红色和绿色二极管的两倍，这对器件的结构设计提出了挑战。红色和绿色二极管使用磷光材料，需要较少的电压来产生发射，因此，减少了能量消耗和热量产生。该项目将评估一种新的磷光、真蓝色发光材料的市场潜力，该材料具有更高的热稳定性和化学稳定性，并且具有高量子效率。在项目期间，该团队将从OLED制造商到设备制造商收集信息，以识别新原材料的需求，成本点和兴趣，以及如何微调材料以更好地适应应用。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is in the arena of energy-efficient solid state lighting. It has been estimated that 20% of all electricity generated in the US is for lighting purposes. Solid state lighting uses far less energy to produce the same amount of effective lighting than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. Additionally, it neither poses the environmental risk of releasing elemental mercury, nor does it require restricted disposal as do compact fluorescent bulbs. Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are more energy efficient and flexible than simple Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), which are made of brittle inorganic materials. OLEDs are 90% more efficient than incandescent light bulbs, and have the potential to be 98% more efficient. Therefore, OLED technology has the potential to dramatically reduce lighting costs and the associated electrical generation preventing the release of billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. OLED screens are steadily displacing other technologies used in portable, battery-operated devices such as cell phones, laptops, and tablets, and in TV's, airplane cockpits, and cars.This I-Corps project addresses a technological bottleneck for current OLED devices in the materials used for the generation of blue light. The materials currently in use have a fluorescent emission, which requires higher voltages resulting in greater energy consumption, more heat generation, and faster breakdown of the material in the device. Current manufacturers have adapted by using a layer of blue material that is twice the thickness of that in the red and green diode, which poses challenges for engineering the device structurally. The red and green diodes use a phosphorescent material requiring less voltage for generating the emission, thus, reducing energy consumption and heat generation. This project will evaluate the market potential of a new phosphorescent, true-blue emitting material for commercial applications that has greater thermal and chemical stability and is highly quantum efficient. During the project period, the team will gather information from OLED manufacturers to device makers to discern the need, cost-point, and interest for new raw materials, and how to fine tune the materials to better suit applications.