Applied Nanotech and Universal Display Corp Nab Phase 1 SBIR Grants

November 9, 2012—The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) Office of Science has awarded two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants in solid-state lighting (SSL) technology to Applied Nanotech (Austin, Tex., U.S.A) and Universal Display Corporation (Ewing, N.J., U.S.A.). The FY12 Phase I Release 3 awards will explore the technical merit and feasibility of innovative concepts in SSL technology.
Applied Nanotech's project, entitled “CarbAl^TM Based Board for Power LED Packaging,” seeks to develop a unique thermal management solution for its novel CarbAl-based, high-power LED circuit board. The thermal management concept is designed to be two to three times less costly than other solutions. The project will achieve additional cost reductions via the use of low-cost materials and simple printing techniques using less capital-intensive equipment.
 
The project by Universal Display Corporation, entitled “Novel Low-Cost Single Layer Outcoupling Solution for OLED Lighting,” proposes OLEDs with external quantum efficiencies of more than 42 percent—twice the efficiency in light extraction compared to the highest-efficiency phosphorescent white organic light-emitting diode (WOLED) with no outcoupling enhancement. The proposed lighting system will involve WOLED lighting pixels measuring 2 mm² with efficacy greater than 80 lm/W and a lifetime of more than 30,000 hours at 1,000 cd/m² with a total thickness of ≤3 mm. The proposed performance targets meet or exceed ENERGY STAR^® Category B criteria for SSL and would represent current world-record efficacies for WOLEDs with a thin form factor and high-quality CRI, and are important steps towards achieving DoE's target of 140 lm/W in an OLED lighting system.