Funded through the DOE's Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Program, this award supports the DOE's long-term commitment to advance the development and market introduction of energy-efficient, solid-state white light sources for general illumination.
Universal Display and its subcontractor Armstrong will develop and deliver an integrated ceiling illumination system that is targeted to exceed the DOE's 2010 performance goals. The white OLED lighting panels will be designed and fabricated by Universal Display using its high-efficiency phosphorescent (PH) OLED technology.
The panels will then be integrated by Armstrong into its innovative TechZone open-architecture ceiling system. In addition, the team will deliver a white OLED lighting panel fabricated on a thin metallic foil substrate using Universal Display’s UniversalPHOLED and other OLED technologies, to demonstrate the commercial product potential of white OLEDs with a flexible form factor.
Steven Abramson, President and CEO of Universal Display, said "With white OLED performance rapidly approaching commercial targets, we are delighted to be collaborating with Armstrong World Industries, a leading developer and manufacturer of innovative building systems, to develop and demonstrate a novel product concept using white OLEDs. Together, our goal is to make energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly, and economical white OLED lighting a commercial reality."
Stephen Senkowski, Executive VP of Armstrong World Industries and CEO of its Building Products Division said "The ability to couple ground-breaking developments in the field of lighting with the proven benefits of commercially accepted building systems like TechZone™ is a key goal of this DOE supported project."
Through the use of its UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent OLED technology, Universal Display recently announced a major research milestone for white OLEDs of 102 lm/W. Compared to incandescent bulbs with less than 15 lm/W and fluorescent lamps typically from 60-90 lm/W, this research result is a significant advance toward achievement of the full set of performance requirements for commercial products.
Power-efficient white OLEDs may reduce energy consumption dramatically and lower the amount of by-product heat, further reducing energy and environmental burdens. White OLEDs are also environmentally benign, especially compared to mercury-containing fluorescent lamps and newer compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Combining these important 'green' features with a very thin, lightweight and durable form factor, white OLEDs offer significant new lighting design opportunities, such as the one envisioned in this Armstrong ceiling system concept.