Osram Opto Semiconductors successfully developed a large and transparent prototype with OLED light source, it's only a few hundred microns thick. Benefit from new technologies, this organic light-emitting diode do not need any independent package, and can be surprisingly thin in any design. the light-emitting area of the transparent test samples can achieve 210 cm2, has already demonstrated the enormous potential of OLED light source, and many extraordinary lighting will become a reality.
Even if the OLED panel with area of 17 x 17 cm2, but it also clearly pointed out the OLED lighting market in the future. Large ultra-thin and transparent light source is a trend. Through these samples, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors set an important milestone for large-scale development of ultra-thin OLED. These samples are an important results of TOPAS R & D research center, the project are funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), target to produce a large transparent OLED modules with area of 1 m2, the project will be continued until 2011.
Although the size of the module needs to be further expanded in the future, but this prototype already has a number of significant features about OLED. They are extremely slim, and no longer requires expensive packages, the thickness depends entirely on the carrier material, currently it's between 300 to 700 μm. The research center will focus on further developing thinner carrier material to produce thinner OLED. These thin OLED modules will be more easily applied to various types of applications, can be made into various shapes but just using minimal space, and can be seamlessly integrated into the design environment, and only can be detected by switching on. "Transparent OLED and flexible OLED will add a new aesthetic for the future lighting solutions," Karsten Heuser, the OLED director of OSRAM Opto Semiconductors in Germany headquarters said: "In the future, the OLED light source is expected to be integrated into the room screens and furniture. For example, the entire window is made by the OLED, so the natural sunlight through the window during the daytime, but the OLED lighting Shining at night. " The latest OLED will be showed in a professional lighting design conference (PLDC) which will be held in Berlin from 29 to 31 October 2009, and to present the participants with the latest developments.
OLED panels can become transparent without reducing any structure, this is due to the new developments of electrode design, and new orientation of special components architecture and thin film technology. The current can be uniformly distributed in the active surface without adding any additional conductor paths to the Light-emitting surface, so that produce the same brightness. Whether based on small molecule or polymer-based to produce OLED, the new technology simplifies the manufacturing process. No matter adopt what kind of materials for active layer, this technology can always produce colorful, warm white and cool white OLED. The next step is to integrate all the process into a stable manufacturing system.
When turn-off, OLED is almost impossible to be detected; but when power is turned on, the entire surface can send a high brightness and unified light.
