US Department of Energy recognizes Universal Display for advances in efficient white OLED lighting

EWING, USA: Universal Display Corp. was recognized by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for outstanding achievements in solid-state lighting throughout 2011. Universal Display received the award during ‘Transformations in Lighting,’ the DOE’s annual Solid-State Lighting R&D Workshop, held Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2012 in Atlanta, GA. This is the fifth consecutive year that the company has received this DOE award.

This year’s award is for Universal Display’s demonstration of an all-phosphorescent OLED lighting system with greater than 55 lumen per Watt system efficacy in an under-cabinet application. This under-cabinet demonstration is an excellent example of the myriad lighting applications that can benefit from white OLEDs, as a result of their energy-efficient and cool operation, their ultra-thin form factor, and their pleasing color emission.

“The US Department of Energy is pleased to see Universal Display’s prototype systems demonstrating the promise of white OLED lighting with commercially-viable performance,” said Dr. James Brodrick, Lighting Program Manager, US Department of Energy. “This DOE-UDC cost-shared project shows how government-industry partnerships can achieve R&D goals that ultimately bring energy savings to Americans.” Dr. Brodrick presented the award to Dr. Mike Hack, who accepted it on behalf of the entire team at Universal Display.

“We appreciate the ongoing support from the US Department of Energy, and also appreciate the recognition for our work in advancing OLED lighting in the broad scope of solid-state lighting,” said Steven V. Abramson, president and CEO of Universal Display. “We have a tremendous team at Universal Display, as well as a strong network of partners that support our ongoing advances in highly energy-efficient phosphorescent OLED technology and materials. We look forward to continuing our work with the DOE to achieve performance targets for the commercialization of OLED lighting in a broad range of applications.”

The US DOE has estimated that solid-state lighting, including OLED lighting, could lead to a 50 percent reduction in energy use for lighting by 2030, or enough electricity to power more than 24 million homes in the US. Recent advances in OLED lighting, including those made by Universal Display, now allow OLEDs to meet a variety of niche lighting performance targets and to demonstrate the potential for OLEDs to achieve general lighting targets established by the US Department of Energy.

Universal Display’s phosphorescent OLED technology and materials offer up to a four-to-one power advantage over other OLED technologies, resulting in record energy-efficient OLEDs. In addition, OLED lighting may enable a range of exciting new product concepts with innovative form factors, transparency and flexibility.