High‐performance white OLEDs with high color‐rendering index for next‐generation solid‐state lighting

Abstract— Several white‐OLED structures with a high color‐rendering index (CRI) were investigated for lighting applications. A two‐unit fluorescent/phosphorescent hybrid white OLED achieved an excellent CRI of 95, high luminous efficacy of 37 lm/W, and long lifetime of over 40,000 hours at 1000 cd/m². White‐OLED lighting panels of 8 × 8 cm for high‐luminance operation were fabricated, and a stable emission at 3000 cd/m² was confirmed. Quite a small variation in chromaticity in a different directions was achieved by using an optimized optical device structure. With a light‐outcoupling substrate, a higher efficacy of 56 lm/W, high CRI of 91, and longer half‐decay lifetime of over 150,000 hours at 1000 cd/m² was achieved. All‐phosphorescent white OLEDs placed on the light‐outcoupling substrate show a high CRI of 85 and higher efficacy of 65 lm/W with a fairly good half‐decay lifetime of over 30,000 hours. With a further voltage reduction and a high‐index spherical extractor, 128 lm/W at 1000 cd/m² has been achieved.     

PIN‐OLEDs for active‐matrix‐display use

Abstract— Novaled's PIN‐OLED® technology allows for highly efficient, temperature stable, and long‐lived OLEDs suited for a variety of display applications. This paper delivers an overview about Novaled's state of the art, including top‐ and bottom‐emitting structures. It is discussed how PIN‐OLEDs give rise to an increased manufacturing yield. The main focus of this paper is the development of white OLEDs for display use. When the RGBW color‐filter approach is used in combination with white OLEDs, the resulting full‐color OLED display is able to deliver high color quality and remain highly power efficient. For such a case, the manufacturing infrastructure of OLEDs for lighting can be used. We use tandem architectures, bottom‐ and top‐emission architectures, and developed specific high‐temperature stable OLED stacks. The importance of matching color coordinates of the white OLED and the targeted display white color point is of outstanding importance. Results have mainly been achieved under the German‐funded project CARO and the European‐funded project AMAZOLED.     

15‐in. RGBW panel using two‐stacked white OLED and color filters for large‐sized display applications

Abstract— A 15‐in. HD panel employing two‐stacked WOLEDs and color filters for which the color gamut can be as high as 101.2% (CIE1976) and the power consumption is 5.22 W. The WOLEDs exhibit a current efficiency of 61.3 cd/A and a power efficiency of 30 lm/W at 1000 nits and their CIE coordinate is (0.340, 0.334). A 15‐in. RGBW panel was investigated to verify the electrical and optical performance compared to that of a 15‐in. RGB TV made by using FMM technology. The characteristics of the 15‐in. RGBW panel are comparable to those of the 15‐in. RGB panel. Color filters combined with WOLEDs is a possible patterning technology for large‐sized OLED TV, which surpasses the limits of fine‐metal‐mask technology.     

Phosphorescent OLEDs: Enabling energy‐efficient lighting with improved uniformity and longer lifetime

Abstract— In this paper, the design criteria for scaling up from small‐area organic light‐emitting‐diode (OLED) pixels to large‐area OLED light panels is described. Particular focus is placed on using phosphorescent OLEDs (PHOLEDs) to maximize panel efficacy and uniformity and minimize operating temperature. Data for a pair of all‐phosphorescent 15 × 15 cm OLED light panels are also presented: Panel 1 has 62‐lm/W efficacy, CRI = 81, CCT = 3180K, and lifetime to LT70 = 18,000 hours at 1000 cd/m² and Panel 2 has 58‐lm/W efficacy, CRI = 82, CCT = 2640K, and lifetime to LT70 = 30,000 hours at 1000 cd/m². Operating at a 3000 cd/m² (7740 lm/m²), Panel 2 has 49‐lm/W efficacy with lifetime to LT70 = 4000 hours. Excellent panel lifetime is enabled by a stable light‐blue phosphorescent materials system and by the use of efficient phosphorescent emitters that ensure very low panel temperature without any additional thermal management.     

System design for a wide‐color‐gamut TV‐sized AMOLED display

Abstract— By using current technology, it is possible to design and fabricate performance‐competitive TV‐sized AMOLED displays. In this paper, the system design considerations are described that lead to the selection of the device architecture (including a stacked white OLED‐emitting unit), the backplane technology [an amorphous Si (a‐Si) backplane with compensation for TFT degradation], and module design (for long life and low cost). The resulting AMOLED displays will meet performance and lifetime requirements, and will be manufacturing cost‐competitive for TV applications. A high‐performance 14‐in. AMOLED display was fabricated by using an in‐line OLED deposition machine to demonstrate some of these approaches. The chosen OLED technologies are scalable to larger glass substrate sizes compatible with existing a‐Si backplane fabs.     

Micro‐cavity design of bottom‐emitting AMOLED with white OLED and RGBW color filters for 100% color gamut

Abstract— Two optical structures used for a bottom‐emitting white organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) is reported. An RGBW color system was employed because of its high efficiency. For red, green, and blue (RGB) subpixels, the cavity resonance was enhanced by the use of a dielectric mirror, and for the white (W) subpixel, the mirror was removed. The optical length of the cavities was controlled by two different ways: by the thickness of the dielectric filter on top of the mirror or by the angle of oblique emission. With both methods, active‐matrix OLEDs (AMOLEDs) that reproduced a color gamut exceeding 100% of the NTSC (National Television System Committee) standard were fabricated. More importantly, the transmission of a white OLED through R/G/B color filters was significantly higher (up to 50%) than that of a conventional structure not employing a mirror, while at the same time as the color gamut increased from ～75 to ～100% NTSC.     

Recent advances in phosphorescent OLEDs for small‐ and large‐area‐display sizes

Abstract— State‐of‐the‐art phosphorescent organic light‐emitting diode (PHOLED?) lifetime and efficiency performances for a range of emission colors are reported. Lifetimes in excess of 100,000 hours were demonstrated at display luminance levels for yellow‐green and NTSC deep‐red emission. In addition, external quantum efficiencies close to the theoretical maximum are demonstrated for long‐lived PHOLEDs.     

White stacked OLED with 38 lm/W and 100,000‐hour lifetime at 1000 cd/m2 for display and lighting applications

Abstract— The three critical parameters in determining the commercial success of organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs), both in display and lighting applications, are power efficiency, lifetime, and price competitiveness. PIN technology is widely considered as the preferred way to maximize power efficiency and lifetime. Here, a high‐efficiency and long‐lifetime white‐light‐emitting diode, which has been realized by stacking a blue‐fluorescent emission unit together with green‐ and red‐phosphorescent emission units, is reported. Proprietary materials have been used in transport layers of each emission unit, which significantly improves the power efficiency and stability. The power efficiency at 1000 cd/m² is 38 lm/W with CIE color coordinates of (0.43, 0.44) and a color‐rendering index (CRI) of 90. An extrapolated lifetime at an initial luminance of 1000 cd/m² is above 100,000 hours, which fulfils the specifications for most applications. The emission color can also be easily tuned towards the equal‐energy white for display applications by selecting emitting materials and varying the transport‐layer cavities.     

System considerations for RGBW OLED displays

Abstract— The fabrication of full‐color RGBW OLED displays using a white emitter with RGB color filters has been previously described. This paper discusses the effect of several display‐system factors on the important RGBW OLED display performance attributes of power consumption, lifetime, and perceived image quality. These display‐system factors include the spectrum of the white OLED, the white OLED structure, the color‐filter selection, the subpixel aperture ratios, and the pixel arrangement (including sub‐sampling).     

Highly efficient white organic light‐emitting diodes with over 100 lm/W for next‐generation solid‐state lighting

High‐performance two‐unit all‐phosphorescent white devices on a built‐up light extraction substrate that comprised high‐index materials were studied. As a result of suitable optical and electrical design, the device showed an extremely high efficacy of 114 lm/W at 1000 cd/m². The device also showed 102 lm/W with long lifetime (LT70) of over 10,000 h at 3000 cd/m². Outstanding external quantum efficiency of almost 50% was also achieved in a flat panel with an emissive area of 25 cm². Color coordinates of the panel met the Energy Star ® criteria of solid‐state lighting with CIE (Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage) 1931 (x, y) = (0.477, 0.423), and the color rendering index was 81.     

Development of a high‐resolution RGBW flexible display using a white organic light‐emitting diode with microcavity structure and that of a side‐roll touch panel

In this study, white organic electroluminescent devices with microcavity structures were developed. A flexible high‐resolution active‐matrix organic light‐emitting diode display with low power consumption using red, green, blue, and white sub‐pixels formed by a color‐filter method was fabricated. In addition, a side‐roll touch display was developed in combination with a capacitive flexible touch screen.     

Model for assessing organic light‐emitting diode display lifetime across applications

A model for assessing organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) display lifetime is developed and discussed for estimating OLED display lifetime in various applications. The lifetime model extends existing stretched exponential models of luminance decay for OLED devices to permit this decay to be estimated as a function of time and current density. This extended model is illustrated within an application to assess the power consumption and luminance decay of diodes within an OLED display. Various metrics of display lifetime are discussed with the aim of developing methods to assess the perceived lifetime of an OLED display to global and local luminance decay mechanisms. Finally, these metrics are applied to illustrate the performance of the model for assessing the impact of an image processing algorithm on OLED display lifetime.     

Ultra‐high‐resolution 1058‐ppi OLED displays with 2.78‐in size using CAAC‐IGZO FETs with tandem OLED device and single OLED device

We fabricated new 2.78‐in 1058‐ppi organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) displays. The displays used OLED devices with a tandem structure and a single structure and a field effect transistor (FET) using c‐axis aligned crystalline In–Ga–Zn–O (CAAC‐IGZO) for an active layer and employing the 1.5‐µm rule over a glass substrate. Even in the displays with such high resolution exceeding 1000 ppi, crosstalk that was observed in the lower luminance region was suppressed. The displays achieved high color reproducibility and reduced viewing angle dependence.     

High‐resolution OLED display with remarkably low power consumption using blue/yellow tandem structure and RGBY subpixels

A top‐emission organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) with a microcavity structure combined with a blue/yellow tandem structure was developed. A high‐resolution active‐matrix OLED display with the world's lowest level of power consumption using the tandem OLED with red, green, blue, and yellow subpixels was fabricated.     

A 5.5‐inch full HD foldable AMOLED display based on neutral‐plane splitting concept

Splitting of the mechanical neutral plane is a promising concept for foldable displays because it reduces the folding stress in each layer of the display. We verified the splitting concept experimentally and revealed a linear relation between the relative position of the neutral plane and the logarithm of the adhesive's elastic modulus. As the modulus decreased, the position of the neutral plane approached that of perfect splitting. On the basis of the neutral‐plane splitting concept, we developed 5.5‐inch full high‐definition foldable active matrix organic light‐emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, which endured 150 k inward folding cycles and 150 k outward folding cycles with folding radii of 3 and 5 mm, respectively. This study is expected to improve the flexibility of designing foldable AMOLED displays, enabling better balance of the portability versus practicality trade‐off in mobile displays.     

Non‐polar‐oriented InGaN light‐emitting diodes for liquid‐crystal‐display backlighting

Abstract— This article addresses spontaneously polarized light emission from GaN‐based light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) fabricated on electrically non‐polar crystallographic orientations and application of spontaneously polarized emission for backlighting of liquid‐crystal displays (LCDs). The first half of the article describes polarized light emission from GaN‐based LEDs and its role in solid‐state lighting technology. The second half reports on our experimental work to explore the potential of non‐polar LEDs for LCD backlighting applications. Optical transmission of non‐polar LED emission was characterized through a liquid‐crystal layer. Extinction ratios of 0.21 were measured between zero and an applied bias voltage to the liquid‐crystal cells. These extinction ratios are not particularly high yet; nevertheless, the experiment has demonstrated the potential of such non‐polar LEDs for LCD backlighting.     

All solution‐processed white quantum‐dot light‐emitting diodes with three‐unit tandem structure

Quantum‐dot light‐emitting diodes (QLEDs) are promising candidates for next generation displays. White QLEDs which can emit red, green and blue colors are particularly important; this is because the combination of white QLEDs and color filters offers a practical solution for high‐resolution full‐color displays. In this work, we demonstrate all‐solution processed three‐unit (red/green/blue) white tandem QLEDs for the first time. The white tandem devices are achieved by serially connecting the red bottom sub‐QLED, the green middle sub‐QLED and the blue top sub‐QLED using the inter‐connecting layer (ICL) based on ZnMgO/PEDOT:PSS heterojunction. With the proposed ICL, the two‐unit tandem QLEDs exhibit a high current efficiency of 22.22 cd/A, while the three‐unit white QLEDs exhibit evenly separated red, green and blue emission with a CIE coordinate of (0.30, 0.44), a peak current efficiency of 4.75 cd/A and a high luminance of 4206 cd/m². Displays based on the developed white QLEDs exhibit a wide color gamut of 114% NTSC. This work confirms the effectiveness of the proposed ZnMgO/PEDOT:PSS ICL and the feasibility of making all‐solution processed tandem white QLEDs by using the proposed ICL.     

Photostable liquid‐crystal guest‐host nano‐materials for display applications

Abstract— We theoretically modeled the optical plasmon absorption of anisotropic metallic nanoparticles in a liquid‐crystal host medium. Metallic nanorods and spheroids act as pleochroic dopants with virtually unlimited photostability. Calculations predict that full‐color displays based on nanorod orientation driven by the transition from homogeneous to homeotropic LC alignment are feasible. These displays are expected to have large viewing angles without the need for polarizers or LC anchoring surfaces.     

A 13.5‐in. Quad‐FHD flexible CAAC‐OS AMOLED display with long‐life OLED device structure

In this study, the device structure of a white tandem organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) was changed to control the emission area and thereby achieve less luminance decay. A long‐life 13.5‐inch 4 K flexible c‐axis‐aligned crystal oxide semiconductor (CAAC‐OS) active‐matrix OLED with less color shift and high resolution was fabricated using this long‐life white OLED, transfer technology, and a CAAC‐OS field‐effect transistor.     

High‐efficiency UV LEDs and RGB white LEDs for lighting and LCD backlights

Abstract— Progress in the development of blue light‐emitting diodes and yellow phosphor has led to the realization of solid‐state lighting. The development was followed by improvement in the luminous efficacy of ultraviolet light‐emitting diodes (UV‐LEDs). By using near‐UV‐LEDs (n‐UV‐LEDs) excited light for red, green, and blue (RGB) phosphors, a new type of solid‐state lighting was realized. An innovative method for increasing the efficiency of LEDs by using a silicon nitride layer as the active layer and piling them up to a nano‐sized level with nano‐sized holes has been developed.