Last week we reported about Philips' OLED lighting roadmap - and they mentioned that they already provide structured OLEDs. In this post I'll explain what Philips means by that. A structured OLED is a custom made OLED lighting panel that contains a text or an image, like the ones in the photo below:
Philips claims they are the first company in the world to provide such OLEDs, and they have developed special technology and masks to enable production of these custom-made panels. Philips say they already got several customers buying these OLEDs. It takes them time to prepare the production line, so usually clients buy 100 pieces or more. They wouldn't name any customers, but hinted about automobile makers and "high luxury outlets".
The price of these panels depend on the image used (a name tag for example is cheaper than a picture) and the number of panels ordered. Philips is still updating the production process which takes at the moment some weeks to up to a few months, but will soon be able to deliver structured OLEDs in only a few days. As for the prices, they are expected to drop soon, too. The structured OLEDs are part of the Lumiblade Decorative lighting family and thus features 15 lm/W efficiency and a lifetime of 10,000 hours (LT70).
When you order a customized OLED, you can choose from any standard Lumiblade - in any size and color, and then customize it by changing the shape (Philips calls this a "free form" panel), color and structure. In the photo below you can see a red tulip that has a customized shape and also a structure inside the panel:
