Technical / Research - Page 118

The project involves the development of a process to deposit high conductivity, very thin metal tracks onto glass and plastic substrates. The process, which is seen as an alternative to conventional inkjet printing methods, involves the use of lasers to expose selected material.

Flexible displays are expected to require a technology such as this for the formation of the TFT backplane, and the process under development would be applicable to plasma (PDP) and LCD displays and even organic photovoltaics as well as PLEDs.

Eastman Kodak announced a licensing agreement with Tohoku Device. Tohoku Device plans to incorporate Kodak's organic display technology into white OLED modules for use as backlights in displays. Tohoku Device joins more than 15 companies that have licensed organic display technology from Kodak.

The royalty-bearing license enables Tohoku Device to use Kodak technology for OLED backlights in a variety of flat panel display applications and includes a cross license to Tohoku Device's patent portfolio. The agreement also gives Tohoku Device the opportunity to purchase Kodak's patented OLED materials for use in manufacturing displays. Financial details were not disclosed.

Universal Display and Novaled presented a joint scientific paper at the International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE) Optics and Photonics 2006 conference in San Diego, CA. The presentation detailed the achievement of a saturated red PHOLED™ phosphorescent OLED device with a luminous efficacy of 15 candelas per ampere (cd/A) and an operating voltage of less than 4 Volts (V) for a record power efficiency of 12 lumens per Watt (lm/W) all at 1,000 candelas per square meter (cd/m2) brightness.

This milestone was achieved through the combination of Universal Display's high-efficiency PHOLED™ phosphorescent OLED technology and materials with Novaled's low-voltage conductivity doped Novaled PIN-OLEDTM technology and transport materials.

Universal Display Corporation announced today significant advances in the development of WOLED™ white OLED technology for solid-state lighting and flat panel display applications.

Osram said it would concentrate its research and development work on organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with the aim of applying this technology also to general illumination.

Osram said it would continue to develop polymer-based solutions for displays but also focus on small-molecule technology for illumination applications. OLEDs are set to be used as extremely thin light sources with large surface areas, for signage and information systems and may even one day be used as illuminated wallpaper, Osram said. The planned work focuses on the design and implementation of specific device architectures for OLEDs, on increasing their efficiency and lifespan and on scaling up to large areas. Experts are also involved in creating the right conditions for high-volume production.

eMagin and the U.S. Army will work together to develop a testing methodology to measure the useful life of AMOLED Microdisplays.

Under the terms of this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), eMagin and NVESD will develop better ways to assess the applicability of active matrix OLED displays in military systems on the basis of their usable lifetimes. Current methodologies for measuring lifetime of non-emissive displays, such as LCDs, do not apply to emissive displays like OLED devices. Rather, the display's lifetime depends on the specific application and can be much longer than most conventional models predict.

Air Products and the University of Connecticut today announced an exclusive licensing agreement under which Air Products may develop and market materials covered by the University's recently issued United States patent 7,071,289 entitled "Polymers Comprising Thieno [3,4-B] Thiophene and Methods of Making and Using the Same." The technology will help increase the lifetime of Polymer Light Emitting Diodes (P-OLEDs) for displays.

Building on the fundamental invention of poly (thieno [3,4-b] thiophene) by Professor Gregory Sotzing at the University of Connecticut, and dopant polymer technology by Air Products, the two institutions have developed Hole Injection Layer (HIL) materials for P-OLEDs which provide a dramatic increase in display lifetime compared to conventional HIL materials, without need for a costly protective interlayer.

UDC and Seiko Epson signed a settlement and license agreement over OLED patents and inkjet printing patent. There is not a lot of information available yet, besides the Following Form 8K:

UDC entered into a Settlement and License Agreement with Seiko Epson Corporation ("Epson"). Under the terms of the agreement, the Registrant licensed one of its ink jet printing patents and certain related patent filings to Epson. Epson's license rights include the right to grant sublicenses to third parties, subject to specified limitations in the agreement. In consideration of the license, the parties resolved outstanding issues concerning the licensed patent rights and Epson agreed to pay a fixed amount to the Registrant. If, within a specified period of time, the parties enter into a broader license agreement covering other aspects of the Registrant's OLED patent portfolio, this amount is creditable against license fees and royalties payable under that broader license agreement.

UDC nnounced that it has been awarded two new Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grants for $100,000 each from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the enhancement of white OLED lighting technology using the Company's high-efficiency PHOLED technology and materials.

In the first Phase I grant, Universal Display will team with its research partners at the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California to demonstrate a simplified path to a low-cost, highly-efficient WOLED™ white OLED lighting device. Research will focus on a device structure that employs only two emissive PHOLED dopants, instead of the current three dopant approaches, to achieve white emission.

The second Phase I grant, also in conjunction with the University of Michigan researchers, aims to increase WOLED device efficiency. Specifically, research will key on increasing light outcoupling efficiency. This will be done through reducing the refractive index contrast between the OLED layer of the device and the substrate. The team seeks to demonstrate a novel device structure with a record 50% total outcoupling efficiency.