Orthogonal Photolithography makes High-resolution OLED Microdisplays Possible

The realization of OLED technology is contingent upon the development of appropriate materials, processing strategies and device structures which are scalable in terms of their cost, capacity, and capability. During the past decade significant progress has been achieved in the synthesis and characterization of OLED materials. Better understanding of material properties and interfaces between organic semiconductors and other materials has enabled the achievement of superior device performance. Although organic devices have exhibited significant improvement over the last decade in terms of their end performance and stability, there still many technological issues to be solved in order to fully facilitate organic device manufacture on the same scale as e.g. the silicon industry. Whereas standard lithographic processes are already available for the patterning of inorganic circuit components, the micro-patterning, processing and integration of organic materials destined for electronic and optoelectronic systems remain among the most challenging issues to be addressed in the field of organic electronics.

Fraunhofer COMEDD in collaboration with its partner Orthogonal Inc. (Rochester, NY) explores novel approach for OLED micro-structuring, which is called Orthogonal Photolithography. “Orthogonal Photolithography is a patented technology, which allows direct patterning of organic material on CMOS-backplanes.”, explains Dr. Alexander Zakhidov, leader of the development group. “So, high-resolution OLED microdisplays for head-mounted displays and data eye-glasses with brightness of 5000 cd/m² are now possible.” Such high brightness micro-displays are required for augmented reality applications where the virtual image has to blend in smoothly with the daylight environment.

The limit for direct RGB-pixel patterning is given by conventional technologies like shadow masking, enabling pixel pitches of about 50 μm. Today smaller pixel pitches can be realized only by covering all sub-pixels with a white OLED and adding a color filter. This filter is able to separate red, green and blue sub-pixels. The disadvantage is, that the color filter causes enormous losses in the light brightness and brilliance. The reason is, that approximately 2/3 of the spectral range of the white pixels are always cut off for the colors that are not needed, and white OLED is itself less efficient than monochrome, therefore just 10 to 20 % of the emitted light could be used.

The new developed technology takes advantage of the fact that the vast majority of organic materials are either oleophilic or hydrophilic and are hence orthogonal (insolvable and stable) to highly fluorinated chemicals. Therefore, appropriate fluorinated photoresists can be used to pattern organic layers without compromising of performance of the organic device. The availability of such orthogonal photoresists promises to enable the fabrication of complex device structures, expanding the range of possibilities for organic electronics.

Fraunhofer COMEDD established Orthogonal Photolithography in its clean room and incorporated it into 200 mm wafer micro display pilot fabrication line. The scientists offer this technology for joint developments of OLED microdisplays and OLED micro-signage applications together with industrial partners.

Fraunhofer COMEDD capabilities for 200 mm wafer processing:

• 300 m2 clean room class 100

• Resist deposition/processing with uniformity deviation <1%

• Resolution 1 μm

• Alignment precision 1 μm

• Wet bench for cleaning/etching

• Dry RIE etching via Ar ion mill and O2 plasma

• Batch vacuum/N2 oven, hotplates Air/N2

• Optical inspection, particle control

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LEDs Feature in New Green Buildings

Nowadays you never hear about some new ultra-efficient building somewhere without the mention of LED lighting in the mix of the energy savings. Here are two examples: the first Whole Foods store in Brooklyn, N.Y. (said to be the most energy-efficient store in the country) and the new US embassy building in Helsinki, the first to be certified LEED Platinum.

Whole Foods

The Whole Foods store on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn covers 56,000 sq. ft. (5203 sq. m) at Third Avenue and 3rd Street. It is referred to locally as "Third and 3rd" (and on Twitter as #thirdand3rd). It has been open since December 2013, but seems to be making a PR push recently to tout its many green features. The store is Whole Foods' showcase for its participation in the Better Building Challenge, an initiative intended to make US commercial and industrial buildings 20% more energy-efficient by 2020.

Whole Foods Sustainability in Brooklyn (Source: William Doble on Vimeo)

The store has a greenhouse on its roof, where produce is grown for sale downstairs. The greenhouse structure cools the building in summer and warms it in winter. I saw no mention of LED horticultural lights. Their use in a greenhouse environment seems to be a matter of research now.

The parking lot is lit by LED lights. These are powered by wind and solar generators on their poles. Other solar panels cover parking areas and generate 220 KWh for use in the store. Rainwater runoff is collected by the panels and directed to an underground 30,000 gal. (113,500 l.) tank. From there it is purified and used in the bathrooms and to water plants in the greenhouse.

The bricks from which the store was constructed are recovered from a demolished New Jersey warehouse. Wood from the Coney Island Boardwalk, dismantled after Hurricane Sandy, decorates some of the inside spaces.

The use of LEDs is not mentioned in the store proper. It makes sense that they would be lighting refrigerated and freezer cabinets, as well as providing overhead illumination. I was unable to get through to anyone at Third and 3rd to confirm.

US Embassy in Helsinki

The Innovation Center in Helsinki, which houses the embassy's public buildings, is claimed to be the first embassy building to be certified LEED Platinum. It uses 46% less energy and consumes 30% less water than a baseline design. It is also "the first US diplomatic building to be equipped with 100% light-emitting diode and organic LED for interior and exterior lighting."

GE Lighting has a few images on its website of the GE Lumination luminaires used in the embassy project. The site of the project's architects, Page Southerland Page, features more photos of some very imaginative lighting in a number of conference rooms.

— Keith Dawson, Editor-in-Chief, All LED Lighting

Cree Introduces Industry’s First 8000 Lumen LED Module

Cree's 8000-lumen LMH2 is designed to replace 150-watt ceramic-metal-halide (CMH) lamps while using only 63 percent of the power and lasting three times as long. With the addition of the 8000-lumen LMH2, the Cree® LMH2 LED Module family offers the industry’s greatest range of lumen output from a single form factor, making it possible to obsolete CMH technology.



"The new Cree® 8000-lumen LMH2 LED Module allows us to effectively address high-ceiling, high-lumen applications without having to sacrifice color quality or reliability," said Wesley Johnson, product manager, Hi-Lite Mfg. "We can now easily offer our customers better lighting solutions to replace 150-watt ceramic-metal-halide lamps in spaces such as convention centers, airports, auditoriums and shopping malls."



Cree’s LMH2 LED Module family provides an extensive range of light output (850 to 8000 lumens) from a single light source, enabling lighting manufacturers to quickly develop an entire product portfolio with just one set of tooling and optical design. Lighting designers can now utilize one light source and technology to illuminate an entire space and avoid problems such as color inconsistency and re-lamping.



“Having an 8000-lumen option in the LMH2 LED Module family gives us the flexibility to create an entire product family from a single form factor,” said Chris Roemlein, president, Spectrum Lighting. “Cree’s ability to increase the performance of the LMH2 Module allows us to address a wide range of ceiling heights with minimal design investment.”



Samples and production quantities are available with standard lead times from Cree distributors. Cree also offers a complete ecosystem of LED accessories to help lighting manufacturers speed their time to market.



Please go to www.cree.com/lmh2 for additional information.



About Cree:

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor products for power and radio frequency (RF) applications.

Cree’s product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree® products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, power suppliers and solar inverters.

Please refer to www.cree.com for additional product and company information.

LED Lighting: Have You Made the Switch?

The city finds itself at odds with Duke Energy again — this time about streetlights. The city would like to start using street lamps powered by light-emitting diode, commonly called LED, as a way to save money. LED bulbs use 50 percent to 60 percent less energy than traditional lamps and provide better-quality light, Greensboro Transportation Director Adam Fischer said. Using LED bulbs should reduce the city’s $3.3 million annual streetlight bill.

DOE: Updated Model Specification for Networked Outdoor Lighting Control Systems

The U.S. Department of Energy's Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium (MSSLC) has released an update to its Model Specification for Adaptive Control and Remote Monitoring of LED Roadway Luminaires, V1.0. The new resource has been renamed to better reflect its evolving scope. The new Model Specification for Networked Outdoor Lighting Control Systems, V2.0 is intended to help cities, utilities, and other local agencies accelerate their adoption of systems that can further reduce the energy and maintenance costs of operating their streetlights.

The Model Specification remains a work in progress, a living document that reflects user experiences and the changing commercial market. Major updates in V2.0 include:

• The introduction of a Backhaul Communication Network section, with associated requirements.

• Separation of the Start-Up and Commissioning sections, with updated or enhanced requirements for both.

• Further refinement focused on facilitating independent bids for Central Management System(s), Backhaul Communication Network(s), and Field Devices. The latter focuses on improving user ability to tender multivendor, multi-bid projects.

• More user notes, new and updated references to industry standards activities, and continued clarification of specifications recommended for all users vs. those deemed optional and likely to be only required by some users.

Download the updated Model Specification.

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Osram 2Q14 Earnings Sees Significant Growth in LED Business

Osram recorded a significant year-on-year earnings increase in the second quarter of its fiscal year 2014. The business with LED-based products (Solid State Lighting, or SSL) continued to rise strongly in the second quarter and achieved a revenue share of 34 percent.

"In the recent quarter, we did well in a challenging environment. In light of the decline of the traditional general illumination business, our revenue target has become more challenging. We are very confident regarding our earnings target”, said Wolfgang Dehen, Chief Executive Officer of OSRAM Licht AG. “To reflect the accelerated transition towards LED technology even more, we will separate the SSL business and the business with traditional products from one another within the reporting segment Lamps & Components. The intention is to sharpen the focus for the different strategies of both businesses and to increase entrepreneurial responsibilities as well as external transparency.”

Osram is implementing or planning further measures to improve structures and processes. These include reorganizing the general illumination sales organization as well as setting up a global shared service organization, among other things.

Osram reporting segments and regional developments

Osram’s opto-semiconductor components reporting segment Opto Semiconductors, or OS, recorded a revenue increase of 14 percent on a comparable basis in the second quarter, with contributions from all regions and businesses. General illumination and industry sales recorded particularly strong growth. At more than 19 percent, the EBITA margin was exceptionally high and included among other things a gain of more than €7 million from an insurance reimbursement. OS will officially open its new LED assembly plant in the Chinese city of Wuxi at the end of May.

Specialty Lighting (SP), with its Automotive Lighting and Display/Optics units, also continued to benefit from rising demand for LEDs in the automotive industry. On a comparable basis, the segment’s second-quarter revenues rose eleven percent, with all reporting regions contributing to this development. The automotive business has been growing faster than the global car production for 17 quarters now. Thanks to high capacity utilization, SP again achieved an EBITA margin of about 16 percent.

In the Lamps & Components (LC) reporting segment, which covers the product business with lamps, light engines and electronic control gears, the clear decline of the traditional business also impacted the second quarter. Total comparable revenue was down two percent, even though revenue with LED-based products rose 40 percent on that basis. The adjusted EBITA margin fell to slightly above five percent, in part because of the rising revenue share of LED-based products. These are less profitable. As announced during the Osram capital markets day (CMD) at the beginning of April, the businesses of the reporting segment Lamps & Components will be reorganized as of May 1, 2014: The traditional business will be bundled in the business unit Classic Lamps & Ballasts (CLB), while the LED-based businesses will be pooled in the business unit LED Lamps & Systems (LLS). Both business units will also be part of the company’s financial segment reporting from the third quarter.

The Luminaires & Solutions (LS) reporting segment comprises luminaires for professional customers, products for consumers, as well as the service and solutions business. In the second quarter, LS recorded a significant sales decline of 19 percent on a comparable basis, mainly due to luminaire portfolio adjustments and the restructuring of the service business in North America. The adjusted EBITA margin was about minus 25 percent. Osram anticipates that the decline in sales has now bottomed out.

From a regional perspective, the Osram reporting region APAC recorded a year-on-year comparable sales increase of three percent, while revenues in EMEA rose two percent. In both regions growth was again driven by OS and SP. In the Americas region, revenues on a comparable basis fell slightly by one percent, in part due to the ongoing reorganization of the North American service business.

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Soraa’s LED MR16 Lamps Receive Energy Star Label

Soraa announced that eight of their most popular MR16 products have been recognized with the ENERGY STAR qualification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the first full-visible-spectrum LEDs to attain this qualification. The ENERGY STAR label certifies that Soraa’s MR16 products have met the stringent energy efficiency standards and performance criteria established by the EPA.

Soraa products already qualify for a wide range of rebate programs based on their superior color rendering and energy efficiency. With the ENERGY STAR label, Soraa’s LED lamps now qualify for additional utility rebate programs nationwide.

“The superior performance of our GaN on GaN™ LED technology enables products that are not only highly energy efficient, but also produce beautiful full-visible-spectrum light, making them the simply perfect choice for illuminating any environment,” said George Stringer, Senior VP of USA Sales at Soraa. “We are very pleased to see our first MR16 products receive the ENERGY STAR label, but this is only the beginning of an exciting year for Soraa. Stay tuned as we roll out our full portfolio of energy efficient, full-visible-spectrum products through the rest of 2014.”

All Soraa LED lamps feature violet emission with 3-phosphors that enable benefits such as VP3 (Violet 3-Phosphor) Natural White and VP3 Vivid Color which reveal the magic of whiteness and colors in every environment, and Point Source Optics for beautiful, uniform beams of high intensity. Now, Soraa’s Simply PerfectTM Light comes with the ENERGY STAR stamp of approval.

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1.4 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness, or security of any information that you download from the website

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