David Savastano, Editor08.01.12
cynora GmbH Brings Material, Processing Advances to OLED, OPV Markets
There are tremendous opportunities for printed electronics (PE) in areas as diverse as organic light emitting diodes (OLED) displays and organic photovoltaics (OPV). However, there needs to be further developments in these areas as well, particularly on the materials side, as companies seek improved efficiency and life expectancy as well as cost-effective processing.
cynora GmbH may provide some of the answers regarding materials for OLED and OPV applications. cynora was founded in 2003, but its focus on organic functional materials for OLEDs and OPVs really began in April 2008, when a pair of graduated chemists, Dr. Thomas Baumann and Dr. Tobias Grab, took over cynora’s general management, serving as co-CEOs. By the end of 2010, new investors joined the company, and today, cynora is a growing company, employing nearly 20 scientists.
Located in the new high-tech incubator at the northern campus of the Institute of Technology in Karlsruhe (KIT), one of the major universities with whom cynora has developed strong ties, cynora has drawn the attention of the industry with its innovative copper-based organic functional materials. In addition, close cooperation with the universities of Braunschweig, Düsseldorf, Karlsruhe and Regensburg guarantees access to state-of-the-art technologies.
cynora materials can be used to print light onto thin foils, labels or as part of smart packaging. Furthermore, the application of these materials is also possible for organic lasers, printed organic sensors or bio-labels in cell studies.
One key differentiator for cynora is its use of organic materials such as copper for its semiconductors.The advantage of copper as the main material is that it is favorably priced and readily available. This will allow organic LEDs and solar cells to be printed as foils just like newspapers. While classical plastics are mostly insulators, the customized application of organic semiconductors gives access to new OLEDs, OPVs, laser resonators and many other devices.
The emitter materials developed by cynora are modified into a form suitable for printing; cynora’s ability to adapt printing and coating techniques also offers major advantages.
“By using modern organic semiconductors instead of classical inorganics like silicon or gallium arsenide (GaAs), we strive for expanding the range of applications of semiconductor technology,” said Dr. Baumann. “Thus, cynora develops the next generation of semiconducting materials. Instead of employing noble metals like iridium or platinum as used in nowadays OLEDs, cynora works with cheaper, environment-friendly materials like copper complexes, which are easily accessible. Apart from optimizing the efficiencies of these materials and device lifetimes, our team also investigates cost-effective processing techniques from solution like inkjet printing and knife-coating.”
cynora’s research is earning notice. In July 2012, cynora won the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) leading-edge cluster competition, Forum Organic Electronics, conducted by InnovationLab GmbH. The company was honored for its innovative cyFlex project, which focuses on the development and production of flexible, printed OLEDs based on new emitter materials.
"I'm very proud of our team,” said Dr. Grab. “Every one of us is working very hard to apply all of our know-how so that cynora will be soon ready to market its technology in the form of favorably-priced, large surface area OLEDS with high energy efficiency. Winning this competition has motivated us even more."
"We now have the unique opportunity with our project to work with the partners of the leading-edge cluster under optimum research conditions in the InnovationLab in Heidelberg, Germany,” said Dr. Baumann. “This represents a great chance for us to develop in this outstanding environment. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the jury for recognizing our work and also the complete cynora team for their fantastic performance.”
Dr. Baumann sees great opportunities for printed electronics in the near future.
“We at cynora strongly believe in printing and coating as the key technologies for the production of low-cost OLEDs,” Dr. Baumann said. “As has been demonstrated by us and many other scientists, the fabrication of OLED devices with solution-processing techniques that reach gold-standards established by vapor-deposition methods is possible. The prices for OLEDs, OSC and other applications for organic electronics will drop, since cheaper materials as replacements for expensive substances like ITO for electrodes and iridium complexes for emitters are becoming available. We contribute to this by providing highly emissive yet cost-efficient copper emitters, which are processed by printing techniques.”
There are tremendous opportunities for printed electronics (PE) in areas as diverse as organic light emitting diodes (OLED) displays and organic photovoltaics (OPV). However, there needs to be further developments in these areas as well, particularly on the materials side, as companies seek improved efficiency and life expectancy as well as cost-effective processing.
cynora GmbH's green OLEDs. |
Located in the new high-tech incubator at the northern campus of the Institute of Technology in Karlsruhe (KIT), one of the major universities with whom cynora has developed strong ties, cynora has drawn the attention of the industry with its innovative copper-based organic functional materials. In addition, close cooperation with the universities of Braunschweig, Düsseldorf, Karlsruhe and Regensburg guarantees access to state-of-the-art technologies.
cynora materials can be used to print light onto thin foils, labels or as part of smart packaging. Furthermore, the application of these materials is also possible for organic lasers, printed organic sensors or bio-labels in cell studies.
One key differentiator for cynora is its use of organic materials such as copper for its semiconductors.The advantage of copper as the main material is that it is favorably priced and readily available. This will allow organic LEDs and solar cells to be printed as foils just like newspapers. While classical plastics are mostly insulators, the customized application of organic semiconductors gives access to new OLEDs, OPVs, laser resonators and many other devices.
The emitter materials developed by cynora are modified into a form suitable for printing; cynora’s ability to adapt printing and coating techniques also offers major advantages.
cynora GmbH prototypes under ambient light. |
cynora’s research is earning notice. In July 2012, cynora won the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) leading-edge cluster competition, Forum Organic Electronics, conducted by InnovationLab GmbH. The company was honored for its innovative cyFlex project, which focuses on the development and production of flexible, printed OLEDs based on new emitter materials.
"I'm very proud of our team,” said Dr. Grab. “Every one of us is working very hard to apply all of our know-how so that cynora will be soon ready to market its technology in the form of favorably-priced, large surface area OLEDS with high energy efficiency. Winning this competition has motivated us even more."
"We now have the unique opportunity with our project to work with the partners of the leading-edge cluster under optimum research conditions in the InnovationLab in Heidelberg, Germany,” said Dr. Baumann. “This represents a great chance for us to develop in this outstanding environment. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the jury for recognizing our work and also the complete cynora team for their fantastic performance.”
Dr. Baumann sees great opportunities for printed electronics in the near future.
“We at cynora strongly believe in printing and coating as the key technologies for the production of low-cost OLEDs,” Dr. Baumann said. “As has been demonstrated by us and many other scientists, the fabrication of OLED devices with solution-processing techniques that reach gold-standards established by vapor-deposition methods is possible. The prices for OLEDs, OSC and other applications for organic electronics will drop, since cheaper materials as replacements for expensive substances like ITO for electrodes and iridium complexes for emitters are becoming available. We contribute to this by providing highly emissive yet cost-efficient copper emitters, which are processed by printing techniques.”