September 26, 2012 – Sumitomo Chemical has joined the Holst Center’s shared research program on printed organic lighting and signage, to extend the program’s research into multilayer solution processes for high-efficiency organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).
OLEDs as large-area light sources could cut lighting-related energy use by 50%-90%, while enabling unique lighting applications. They are conventionally made by depositing numerous thin layers of material onto glass substrates or flexible plastic foils, using evaporative processes in vacuum conditions. Switching to solution-based processes that can be done in an atmospheric-pressure environment would significantly reduce costs, by removing the need for vacuum equipment and reducing material waste.
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Toward this end, Sumitomo Chemical‘s participation in the Holst program will be providing high-end OLED materials, particularly for the active (light-emitting) layers. "Their expertise and high-end OLED materials will help us develop solution-processed OLEDs that match the efficiency of today’s highest-performing devices but at lower manufacturing costs," stated Ton van Mol, Partnership Director at Holst Centre.
Sumitomo Chemical, meanwhile, also will benefit from the program’s expertise in optimizing materials for low-cost production and flexible substrates. "Holst Centre is a leading research center for flexible electronics, and one of the few working on solution processing for OLEDs. Its unique infrastructure and many partners across the OLED lighting community will help us tailor our materials to better meet the needs of the lighting industry," echoed Ikuzo Ogawa, managing executive officer at Sumitomo Chemical.
The Holst Center is an independent open-innovation R&D center bringing together industry and academia to develop technologies for wireless autonomous sensor technologies and flexible electronics. It was set up in 2005 by imec (Flanders, Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands) with support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Government of Flanders. It is named after Gilles Holst, a Dutch pioneer in Research and Development and first director of Philips Research. Located on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Holst Centre has over 180 research staff from 28 nationalities and a commitment from close to 40 industrial partners.