BASF and OSRAM have created the first organic LED (OLED) to achieve a light yield of more than 60 lumens/W while also meeting the international Energy Star SSL Standard for color requirements. Although this efficiency benchmark had been achieved previously, the color values had not been within the standard’s acceptable band for color coordinates around the Planck curve. The new OLED meets this standard, and the light retains its white color at different intensity levels.
Laboratory tests show that the new OLEDs are five times as efficient as filament bulbs and up to 50% more efficient than standard low-energy lamps. BASF and OSRAM (a part of the Industry Sector of Siemens) are conducting the research within the framework of the OLEDs for Applications in the Lighting Market (OPAL) project. The project is sponsored as part of the OLED Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research.
The new OLED contains phosphorescent metal complexes as emitter materials and customized complementary materials, which ensure the optimum constancy of the color temperatures. The companies must now work to optimize the life of the OLED tiles, especially by stabilizing the blue emitters. “The challenge now lies with the process engineers to apply these high efficiencies economically to large active areas,” said Karsten Heuser, project coordinator and director of OLED Lighting Technology at OSRAM Opto Semiconductors.
BASF
OSRAM