Present situation and market development trend of OLED lighting technology

Showa electronics recently released a press release announced that the company through the use of new structure (New Technology) has been OLED (organic EL) device to enhance the efficiency of light extraction to about 40%, reaching the highest level in the world. The press release pointed out that with the new technology, the company is currently the luminous efficiency of phosphor OLED devices in development has increased to 30lm/W, reached the highest level in the world, is expected to follow the device can be widely used in OLED lighting applications. The press release also pointed out that the company will also and the nonprofit research group SRI International and Itochu Plastics Inc further improved the structure of cooperation, hand in hand device, and is expected in 2010 for the lighting market sample sales. In addition, Showa electrician also plans to improve the luminous efficiency of the device before 2015 to 150lm/W, the brightness of the white half life expectancy of 50 thousand hours.

According to the Nikkei BP news agency reported that Matsushita Electric produced a number of organic semiconductor printing methods produced by the organic EL lighting panel. Both the luminous efficiency and color performance are obtained with higher values. This is the 18~20 2009 (Printable Electronics 2009) seminar was held in February 2009 in the company's speech was informed. The luminous efficiency of the organic EL lighting panel for 40lm/W, said the color performance index of --CRI (Color Rendering Index) value is 95, the external quantum efficiency is 36.1%, the initial brightness is 1000cd/m2 when the half period in more than 20 thousand hours. In the manufacturing process, the semiconductor, known as the hole injection layer, is fabricated using a method called "slit coating (SlitCoating)". "Just as the material in this layer is also suitable for coating with excellent performance" (Matsushita Electric). Slit coating method is a technique used in the manufacture of liquid crystal panel. Matsushita Electric will cooperate with the development of organic EL lighting technology company TAZMO provided by the device to be modified to make it suitable for organic EL. "The use of slit coating, the film thickness of 40~50nm. film thickness uniformity of + 5%, coating speed of 100mm/s" (Matsushita Electric). The realization of the 40lm/W luminous efficiency and the actual luminous efficiency of fluorescent lamp equivalent (Matsushita Electric). This is because, although the luminous efficiency of the fluorescent lamp can reach 80~100lm/W, but the use of light for diffuse light and low reflectivity of the reflector will make the actual efficiency of 1/2. Only from the luminous efficiency point of view, there are several manufacturers to achieve a higher value. For example, UDC (UDC) reached 102lm/W.. However, the panel company CRI was only 70 while Matsushita, as organic EL when used for illumination conditions, the company has always attached great importance to the degree of excellent color performance. "If the color is low, the strawberries will look like rotten".

Recently, the Japanese Research Institute of Jinze optoelectronic field three research group developed Professor Ming Yi, a OLED element green emitting phosphorescent material, light emitting efficiency of 210lm/W. This is achieved by making the light extraction efficiency (the light extraction efficiency is calculated assuming that the internal quantum efficiency of the phosphor material is 100%). Same as the external quantum efficiency More than two times the original, up to 56.9%. Three on the team through the movement of Ming Yi light detailed calculation of the OLED element, find the method to achieve high light extraction efficiency. In light of the thickness of the 1mm thin film and the thickness of the thin film, such as the thickness of the OLED film, such as the thickness of the nm film, the thickness of the film, such as the thickness of a few hundred m to a thick film, is analyzed. It is found that the original OLED element has a 50%-70% light energy which is not output from the semiconductor layer, but is wasted in the form of heat. On this basis, after the three Ming Yi team will refraction thick film rate increased to 2, again on the light movement were calculated and confirmed with 2/3 light energy transfer to the thick film layer. However, this is only a direct change in the light gathering layer, and does not help to achieve high light extraction efficiency, the proportion of light output to the outside of the element is still relatively low. Three team Ming Yi thickness 0.7mm, thick film layer was reflected in the glass surface 2.03 is formed on the lens array structure of 0.3mm space, which will gather thick film in the light of efficient extraction to external components. The results show that 56.9% of the high light extraction efficiency of the OLED element is obtained. Mikami Akiyoshi said that the theoretical component of the light extraction efficiency of 75 ~ 80%. Lens array is also much room for improvement. The team's goal is to achieve no loss of light source, in addition to the thick film and lens array, if combined with SONY's development of micro cavity structure and other technologies, it is expected to significantly close to this goal.

According to market research firm DisplaySearch OLED predicts that the market value will be from the year 2007 to $500 million and $600 million for the year 2008 to the year 2009, the growth of $1 billion 100 million, $2 billion for the year 2011, year 2012 of $3 billion, and $5 billion 500 million for the year 2015.

In the light of the trend of continuous improvement of technology, industry research institutions believe that OLED is expected to enter the commercial production stage in 2011. 2011 OLED lighting market will grow rapidly to $1 billion 710 million in 2020 is expected to rise to $14 billion. Due to the popularity of OLED lighting is the key technology of manufacturing low cost, for positioning in the middle panel module manufacturing Taiwan OLED manufacturers, with a large number of energy production, and master the production yield, is already a ticket. Although Taiwan in the relevant areas of the lack of lighting brands, independent materials,