OVPD - Page 2

Back in January 2014 Aixtron and Manz announced they will co-develop solutions for efficient OLED production, based on Aixtron's OVPD technology - specifically a Gen-8 (2300x2500 mm) system. During a recent conference call, Aixtron said that the Gen-8 tool is still in qualification and it seems that it will take some time before this is ready to commercialization. Aixtron is however "very optimistic" regarding the business aspects of OVPD.

Aixtron recently installed an R&D "cluster" at their clean-room that demonstrates the core processes used to produce organic semiconductors (deposition of OLEDs and flexible electronics). The Gen-1 (200x200 mm) cluster is built around three OVPD systems embedded in an automated cluster environment.

Aixtron installed an R&D "cluster" at their clean-room that demonstrates the core processes used to produce organic semiconductors (deposition of OLEDs and flexible electronics). This new system offers industrial customers (and research partners) an integrated environment that shows off the company's core technologies.

The cluster includes several process modules and supports Gen-1 substrates (200x200 mm). The cluster is built around three OVPD systems embedded in an automated cluster environment and supplemented by various process modules and relevant infrastructure.

Aixtron and Manz signed a strategic cooperation agreement for OLED manufacturing. The two companies will co-develop solutions for efficient OLED production, based on Aixtron's OVPD technology.

Aixtron says that together with Manz, they plan to develop a Gen-8 (2300x2500 mm) system that can deposit OLED materials efficiently. Aixtron's part in this collaboration is the further development of OVPD process technology, while Manz will contribute its experience in purifying and handling large-scale glass substrates and the development and manufacturing of large vacuum systems. Aixtron and Manz will assemble a demonstration Gen-8 system in the coming months at one of Aixtrons's clean rooms.

Aixtron announced that the European Smartonics project (which aims to develop smart machines, tools and processes for the precision synthesis of materials for organic electronics) will use the company's OVPD evaporation process and roll-to-roll printing machines. Aixtron is one of the project's partners and they will develop a small R&D OVPD cluster system that will use the company's latest 200 mm R&D platform, which is optimized and qualified for manufacturing of organic photovoltaic devices.

OVPD (Organic Vapor Phase Deposition) organic material deposition technology was developed by Universal Display. Aixtron holds an exclusive license to produce OVPD manufacturing equipment.

The German OLED project So-Light has been successfully completed. This 3.5 years, €14.7 million project (funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) addressed the complete value chain, from primary OLED materials through to OLED-lighting applications.

Aixtron launched a new Polymer Vapor Phase Deposition (PVDP) R&D system for flexible organic thin film material deposition. The PRODOS-200 features high deposition rates, high contour conformity of the deposited layers and unrestricted scalability based on Aixtron's Close Coupled Showerhead technology. The substrate size is up to 200x200 mm².

Aixtron says that the new system can be used to develop new processes (or improve existing ones) in organic electronics that may enable the creation of new conductive and flexible layers, manipulation of surface properties and flexible barrier layers.The new system is compatible with Aixtron's OVPD R&D line equipment, and so can be used to create new compounds for OLEDs, OPVs and OTFTs.

The Gizmodo team paid a visit to Universal Display, and they have an interest account of it, complete with photos and a video.

They discuss the different ways of producing the OLED screen - Vacuum Thermal Evaporation,Organic Vapor Phase Deposition, Organic Vapor Jet Printing, and altogether it's a good read. 

Read more here (Gizmodo) 

The pilot fabrication system consists of clusters combining thermal evaporation and organic vapor phase deposition (OVPD) modules. The usable substrate size is 370 x 470 mm² on glass substrates and foils. The targeted tact time is three minutes, resulting in an annual capacity of approximately 13,000 m². The system is designed for efficient materials usage and flexibility in substrate format and organic stack. It is one of the worlds first pilot production systems for OLED lighting and organic based solar cells.

The order of the fabrication system is the first step to establish COMEDD at the Fraunhofer IPMS. To speed up the time to market for OLED lighting, organic solar cells and OLED-on-CMOS-devices, the Fraunhofer IPMS is building three pilot production lines. Germany’s state and federal government, as well the EU, are investing € 25 million into COMEDD to establish the leading European institution for R&D and pilot production of small-molecule organic devices.

The order of our tool is for us an important step to OLED lighting fabrication machine market. says Dr. Hoon Lim, CEO of Sunic Systems.

The integration of an OVPD® module is a milestone for our business to integrate next generation fabrication technology into new market segments. notes Dr. Bernd Schulte, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at AIXTRON AG.

Read more here (Azom)

Universal Display Corporation today announced that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant for $750,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop power-efficient WOLED™ white OLED technology for future solid-state lighting applications.

Through this Phase II program, Universal Display is seeking to demonstrate novel WOLED device designs that offer further enhancements in power efficiency and operating lifetime based on the Company’s proprietary PHOLED technology.  The DOE has developed a technology roadmap suggesting a feasible path for white OLEDs to achieve power efficiencies of 100 to 150 lumens per Watt (lm/W).  Universal Display’s PHOLED technology is a critical element for achieving this goal.  The Company recently announced a white PHOLED with a power efficiency of more than 30 lm/W and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 29 % at 850 nits, which the Company believes is the highest EQE reported to date.  Through programs such as this one, Universal Display hopes to achieve continued performance gains toward the DOE’s roadmap goals.

The new program will also leverage the Company’s proprietary OVPD™ organic vapor phase deposition processing technology.  OVPD technology offers the potential to optimize organic layer thicknesses, doping concentrations and the interfaces between the layers, and also to provide excellent film uniformity over large areas. 

Aixtron is to take part in the OPAL 2008 (Organic Phosphorescent lights for Applications in the Lighting market 2008) R&D project in a consortium with Osram, Philips, BASF and Applied Materials. The project will use Aixtron's Organic Vapor Phase Deposition (OVPD) technology platform.

OPAL 2008's aim is to develop OLED production technology capable of achieving a target cost of a few Euro cent per cm² for a high performance white OLED device, with the ultimate goal of introducing the new lighting technology into the market.

Read more here