OLED lighting

We just got word from LG Chem that the company finished development of their first OLED lighting panel, and have started mass production. The "type 1" panel, or the LG-OLED-041 is a 100x100 mm square panel that features 4,000K, CRI>80, 45 lm/W and 10,000 hours lifetime (LT70) at 3,000 nits. The active emitting panel is 90x90 mm, and the whole panel is 2.44 mm thick (including the optical film and PCB. The OLED itself is 1.84 mm).

LG Chem is already developing the 2nd generation (or "type 2") panel which will up the efficiency to 60 lm/W and the lifetime to 15,000 hours. The size will be the same, but the color will be 3,500K. LG Chem will start mass production of type 2 panels in 2Q 2012. LG Chem further says that it decided to offer these new panels at "lower prices" - although we do not know the actual price yet.

Konica Minolta announced plans to splits its LA Business division (who is in charge of OLED lighting and new functional materials) into a new subsidiary which will be called Konica Minolta Opto (KMOT). This split will be effective by April 2012.

KM says that the split will aid their ventures to accelerate OLED lighting commercialization. They hope that this move will also optimize its facilities and staff resources.

Swedish research firm Visual Guidance Systems Scandinavia AB (VGS) developed a new road lighting system concept based around OLED luminaires. The basic idea is that the lamps come in different shapes (enabled by OLED area-lighting panel designs) that signals information processes to support drivers - so a lamp above a crossroad or a pedestrian crossing will signal the object beneath it:

VGS sent us an article showcasing this new concept - with lot's of examples and discussions how this compares with current road luminaries and advantages in safety and traffic management. You can download the article in the link below.

Digitimes Research posted about Philips lighting unit, and they said that the company's goal is to reach an efficiency of 120 lm/W for their OLED lighting panels by 2019. We talked to Philips and indeed they confirm this number. Philips is gearing up to start production in their new Aachen production plant which will increase production capacity tenfold and will also lower prices considerably.

This is quite an increase from the panels Philips make today. The regular Lumiblades offer around 12 lm/W, while the Lumiblade Plus (a phosphorescent panel, developed by Konica Minolta and produced by Philips) offers 45 lm/W. We reviewed Philips' new Lumiblades recently, here's the short hands on video:

Blackbody is exhibiting in the Maison & Objet conference in Paris, showing their latest OLED chandeliers - including some classics like the Big Bang, and some new ones like the I.Rain by Thierry Gaugain, shown below.

Blackbody says that they have already installed several chandeliers at different places. For example the "Wishing Tree" by Aldo Cibic is installed in the opera Ristori in Verona, Italy, while the Mini Bang is installed in Hotel particulier XVIIIe siècle in Paris.

Japan's Oji Paper developed a new microfabrication technology that can be used to enhance the light extraction efficiency of OLEDs. The idea is to use microparticle coating to form a regular pattern that is several-nanometer-wide on the surface of the metal part of the negative electrode in an OLED panel. The nanostructure turns the plasmon energy (that is sometimes released from an OLED) into light.

Oji paper says that this technology was used to improve a red OLED's light extraction efficiency by about 100%. They are now working to apply this to a white OLED.

Lumiotec signed a new OLED technology license agreement with Universal Display - and will integrate UDC's technology and materials into their OLED lighting products. Lumiotec will pay license fees and running royalties to UDC, and the term of the agreement runs through December 31, 2015.

Lumiotec OLED lamps

Lumiotec says that they will start delivering sample panels next month (February 2012) - mainly 145x145 mm square panels - with warm white color and 40 lm/W efficiency. The company will start mass production these panels by April. Lumiotec also says that they are developing high-efficient natural white panels - and these will be released sometime during 2012.