€6.1m R&D project aims to develop printable OLEDs

24 Jul 2013

German industrial-academic “Cycesh” program to run for three years.

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF has launched a printable OLED research and development project called Cycesh, involving Cynora GmbH, Novaled AG, and the University of Regensburg group of Prof. Dr. Hartmut Yersin. The project is set to run for three years with a total funding of €6.1 m.

The research of new soluble materials for the inexpensive production of organic light emitting diodes and the production of OLED devices with high efficiency are the main focus of the project.

The partners say that recent developments in printable materials and technologies are making it possible to manufacture OLEDs by simpler and cheaper printing processes; currently conventional OLEDs are still mainly being produced by expensive vacuum processes.

Dr. Thomas Baumann, managing director of cynora GmbH, commented, “Through our collaboration with Novaled and Prof. Yersin of the University of Regensburg, we combine, within a team of experts, a comprehensive and specific know-how and can take it to the next step in OLED development. This consortium is aiming to develop mass-market materials and methods for production of OLEDs.”

The collaboration of the project partners is expected to achieve optimum coverage of the OLED value chain. The strengths of the partners encompass: material development (Prof. Yersin), the subsequent synthesis and optimization of the materials (Cynora), and the application of solution-based-processed, doped transport layers (Novaled), together forming what they are calling “a complete comprehensive partnership for OLED applications”.

About Cynora

Founded in 2003, this company’s focus is on researching innovative organic semiconductors whose physical properties as illuminants suit them to applications in OLEDs. From designing new functional modules for OLEDs and solar cells to manufacturing these components in a lab environment, where they are tested for physical suitability with advanced measurement methods and technology, Cynora claims to cover the entire spectrum of material and component development.

Besides exploring new ways of achieving additional efficiency gains, the young and dynamic team behind cynora, currently numbering 20, also works on improving key aspects of OLED applications, such as cost-effective processing and life expectancy. Printing optoelectronic components requires new, intelligent materials and approaches. Resulting products can be used as displays, light sources, design objects and solar cells for energy generation.

About the Author

Matthew Peach is a contributing editor to optics.org