Universal Display achieves 102lm/W in white OLEDs

Last month at the Society for Information Display Symposium, Universal Display announced a new record of 72lm/W and steps towards commercializing the technology.

According to the company, the milestone indicates that white OLEDs can surpass the power efficacy of the two incumbent indoor lighting technologies—incandescent bulbs are less than 15lm/W and most fluorescent lamps are 60- to 90lm/W.

Funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through its Solid-State Lighting initiative, Universal Display's 102lm/W milestone is a significant achievement toward the DOE's road map goal of a 150lm/W commercial OLED light source by 2015.

The all-phosphorescent OLED structure uses complementary materials from Universal Display's partners at LG Chem and Nippon Steel Chemical Company. The white OLED light source has a color rendering index of 70 and a coordinated color temperature of 3900°K.

"Reaching 100lm/W is a tremendous accomplishment for our company and the industry," said Steven Abramson, president and CEO of Universal Display. "Through this record milestone announced today, white OLEDs are moving a significant step closer to becoming a key participant in the $100 billion per year lighting industry."

Combining the white OLEDs' "green" features with a thin, lightweight and durable form factor, the devices are said to offer significant lighting design opportunities.

White OLEDs are also readily color tunable, from cool to warm whites, with extremely pleasing white emission that simulates healthful, natural lighting. Compared to inorganic LEDs, white OLEDs are excellent diffuse emitters with the potential to be significantly more cost-effective in high-volume production.

- John Walko
EE Times Europe