From Deposition to Encapsulation: Roll-to-roll manufacturing of organic light emitting devices for lighting (Final Report)

Technical Report · Mon Oct 30 04:00:00 EDT 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2203742· OSTI ID:2203742

Forrest, Stephen R ^[1]

---

1. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); University of Michigan

Organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are promising solid state light sources due to their high efficiency, high color quality and flexible form factors. The key to enable low cost OLED lighting, is to rapidly fabricate thin film organic layers on a continuous flexible roll, called R2R processing. This project aims to investigate the feasibility of mass production of OLED lighting using the R2R process, from deposition to encapsulation. A high efficiency white OLED is fabricated on 10 cm-wide substrate rolls in a pilot R2R tool comprising of two different organic deposition: vacuum thermal evaporation (VTE) and organic vapor phase deposition (OVPD). A high quality encapsulation process to package OLEDs is demonstrated using an atomic layer deposition tool integrated to the R2R system without air exposure. The method to achieve ultrahigh deposition rates required by R2R processing is demonstrated by OVPD. Uniform organic semiconductor thin films grown by OVPD at rates as high as 50 Å/s are achieved. A comprehensive numerical model that is capable of simulating complex, multilayer WOLED structures is developed to provide an alternative to experimental iterations of OLED design and tests. A cost estimate on the R2R production of WOLEDs for lighting is developed. Assuming a WOLED luminance of 10 klm/m², the cost of a WOLED light engine is anticipated to be $$\$$ 12.5$ /klm. With incremental reduction in material and driver costs and improved luminance, the cost of WOLED lighting can be reduced to $$\$$ 6.3$ /klm in the near term. These findings suggest OLED lighting can be volume manufactured by R2R vapor deposition methods with much reduced costs compared to current batch processing methods, potentially positioning WOLEDs for use in numerous premium lighting applications.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
• DOE Contract Number: EE0008723
• OSTI ID: 2203742
• Report Number(s): DOE-UM--0008723
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE