DOE funds more core technology research for SSL

Aug. 27, 2009
DOE has announced four projects that will constitute round 6 of its SSL Core Technology Research program.
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has announced four selections in response to the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Core Technology Research Call (Round 6) DE-PS26-09NT013775, for DOE and federal laboratories.

The selections represent the sixth round in a series seeking to examine high-priority R&D activities that will advance state-of-the-art SSL used for general illumination applications.

The selections have a total value of $6.4 million—three of the selections valued at a total of $4.6 million will be funded via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and one will be funded via appropriated funds ($1.8 million).

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Title: Lattice mismatched GaInP alloys for color mixing white light LEDs

Recipient: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Funding Source: ARRA
Summary: The project seeks to demonstrate the viability of high bandgap GaInP alloys for synthesis of inexpensive, efficient Al-free LED devices on conventional GaAs substrates, which emit in the deep green 560 ~ 570 nm region of the green gap, or inside the red gap (615 ~ 625 nm), and for which the LEDs are fabricated using simpler OMVPE growth and processing techniques conventionally used for GaAs based III-V alloys. The utilization of more efficient emitters, particularly in the deep green area of the spectrum, will contribute to meeting DOE efficiency targets identified for RGB based color mixing LEDs, and significantly lower the cost of such devices.

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Title: Development of Stable Materials for High-Efficiency Blue OLEDs through Rational Design

Recipient: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Funding Source: ARRA
Summary: This project seeks to utilize new materials in a mixed-host system to demonstrate improved lifetime and efficiency. Using new stable materials and improved OLED device architectures will enable higher device stability and improved efficiencies in blue OLEDs at currents useful for SSL products, and lead to demonstration of highly efficient white OLEDs with longer lifetimes.

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Title: Semi-polar GaN Materials Technology for High IQE Green LEDs

Recipient: Sandia National Laboratories
Funding Source: ARRA
Summary: This project seeks to improve the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) in green nitride-based LED structures by using semi-polar GaN planar orientations for InGaN multiple quantum well (MQW) growth. These semi-polar orientations have the advantage of significantly reducing the piezoelectric fields that distort the quantum well band structure and decrease electron-hole overlap. At the end of this program SNL expects MQW active regions at 540 nm with an IQE of 50%, which with an 80% light extraction efficiency should produce LEDs with an external quantum efficiency of 40%, or twice the estimated current state-of-the-art.

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Title: Exploiting Negative Polarization Charge at n-InGaN/p-GaN Heterointerfaces to Achieve High Power Green LEDs without Efficiency Droop

Recipient: US Army Research Laboratory
Funding Source: Solid-State Lighting Appropriated Funds
Summary: This project seeks to exploit the negative polarization charge at the n-InGaN/p-GaN heterointerface to achieve high power, high efficiency green LEDs without efficiency droop. The target goals are 540 nm LEDs with peak IQE of 40% at current densities sufficient to enable general illumination applications.