Plastic Electronics 2008 in Seoul

SEOUL, KOREA: Organic materials make various new devices possible for IT. Displays based on organic light-emitting diodes are already established on the market. Further applications are among others OLED lighting solutions, signage, organic solar cells or memories.

In recent years, Dresden has evolved into a research center for organic materials and systems. In order to transfer the results to production further improvements in the production process and the establishment as well as the testing of first pilot-production lines are necessary. That is why a Center of Organic Materials and Electronic Devices Dresden (COMEDD) was founded at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS).

COMEDD combines R&D for production, integration and technology of organic devices. Its mission includes customer and application specific research, development and pilot production of novel device concepts and production methods for vacuum deposited organic materials.

The aim of this center is to be the European-wide leading production-related research and development center for organic semiconductors focussing on organic light-emitting diodes and vacuum technology. The center is supported by the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, the Free-State of Saxony, the German State, as well as by the EU with additional investments of 25 millions Euros for its infrastructure.

COMEDD amends the existing prototype production lines of the Fraunhofer IPMS. The additional infrastructure of COMEDD consists of three production lines, which will be implemented in a 900 m² class 10 cleanroom:

• Pilot production line for the production of OLEDs and organic solar cells on 370 x 470 mm² substrates

• Pilot production line for 150 mm and 200 mm wafer for the OLED integration in CMOS substrates

• Pilot production line for a roll-to-roll deposition on flexible substrates.

The implementation of the pilot production lines will be completed by the end of 2008 and respectively 2009 the roll-to-roll production line. The center offers research, development and pilot production especially for the following fields of application:

1. OLED lighting and signage

2. OLED on CMOS integration

3. Organic solar cells

The Fraunhofer IPMS shows exhibits at Plastic Electronics dealing with:

OLED-based backlights for autostereoscopic 3D displays

Fraunhofer IPMS, a leading innovator in the field of OLED based lighting and microsystems solutions, has achieved a major milestone in OLED-based backlights for autostereoscopic 3D displays. For the first time a 3.5" 3D QVGA display will be presented, that is based on a highly-efficient, patterned and controllable OLED backlight. The technology demonstrator presented at PEA 2008 combines several major achievements:

- Large-area display OLED backlight (about 80 x 60 mm, supplying a 3.5" LCD modulator)

- Highly-efficient and fast-response OLED top-emitter (monochrome orange, PIN-OLED™ technology)

- Striped patterned backlight (stripe width 28 μm)

- Individual electronic driving for adaptive backlight control (double-layer wiring integrated on the substrate)

- 3D mobile display application demonstrated (PDA-like, microoptics and front modulator integrated)

This proprietary technology is targeted on providing an approach to electronically adapt the display backlight angular emission characteristics. In combination with specificly embedded microoptics the stereoscopic eye-boxes according to user's position in front of the screen can be moved by electronic backlight control. Further work is directed to full-color, multi-view and multi-user application.

Highly efficient lighting based on OLEDs

Incandescent and fluorescent lamps are light sources with sophisticated production technology and functionality, which dominate the today’s general lighting technology. During the last decade the LEDs based on semiconductors have reached a development status, which is beyond its original functionality and application areas (indicator/status/signal lights and display technology).

Compared to LEDs, lighting based on organic light-emitting diodes is still in the development phase, but shows already a big potential for the light source of the future and will complement the LEDs as second important solid light source: an enormous growth market. Flexible or transparent OLEDs enables completely new lighting solutions.

Inside the European project OLLA, new highly efficient large area lighting modules for general lighting have been developed. The Fraunhofer IPMS will exhibit the latest results of OLLA: a white flat large area light source for direct illumination.

Transparent signage

OLED displays are featured by a high contrast, low power input and minor thickness. Due to the minor thickness of the OLED layer the production of transparent displays is also possible. Information on such displays can be read from both sides and in the off-state they are transparent.

Displays with three-dimensional appearance, transparent or two-way displays are possible applications of these highly transparent displays in the field of the automotive industry and in the medical science. Furthermore, they can be used as design elements and due to their variability in shape and size there is a wide range of applications.

During the show the Fraunhofer IPMS will present novel displays with a very high level of transparency for the automotive industry.

Dr. Michael Törker will present COMEDD's large-area OLED fabrication and integration technology at the Lighting and Signage Symposium, on June 26, 2008.