09.14.15
The Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP will show for the first time organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) on graphene at Plastic Electronics 2015, Oct. 6-8, 2015 in Dresden.
These OLEDs are an interim result from the project GLADIATOR funded by the European Commission.
Until now ,transparent electrode materials for OLEDs have mainly consisted of indium tin oxide (ITO), which is expected to become economically challenging for the industry due to the shrinking abundance of indium. Therefore, scientists are intensively looking for alternatives. One promising candidate is graphene, whose application fields are more closely investigated in the project GLADIATOR (Graphene Layers: Production, Characterization and Integration).
The project GLADIATOR, which is funded by the European Commission, has reached its midterm and has already achieved some successes. The aim of the project is the cost-effective production of high quality graphene at large area, which can then be used for numerous electrode applications.
With graphene as an electrode, the researchers at the Fraunhofer FEP hope for flexible devices with higher stability.
“Graphene is a very interesting material with many possibilities,” said Beatrice Beyer, project coordinator. “Because of its opto-electrical properties and its excellent mechanical stability, we expect that the reliability of flexible electronics will be improved many times over.”
In order to compete with ITO, the transparency and conductivity of graphene must be very high. At the same time, the developed process steps must be easily scalable for later industrial use. The processes for different target substrates such as glass or flexible foil must be adapted and optimized. These many challenges are faced by a project consortium consisting of 16 partners from six EU member states and Switzerland.
The Fraunhofer FEP is coordinating the GLADIATOR project and acts as an end-user of the graphene electrode. The first hurdles have been overcome thanks to a close cooperation between the consortium partners and the first defect-free OLEDs on transparent graphene electrodes have been realized on small areas. The target of the next one and a half years is to successfully illuminate large area OLEDs.
These OLEDs are an interim result from the project GLADIATOR funded by the European Commission.
Until now ,transparent electrode materials for OLEDs have mainly consisted of indium tin oxide (ITO), which is expected to become economically challenging for the industry due to the shrinking abundance of indium. Therefore, scientists are intensively looking for alternatives. One promising candidate is graphene, whose application fields are more closely investigated in the project GLADIATOR (Graphene Layers: Production, Characterization and Integration).
The project GLADIATOR, which is funded by the European Commission, has reached its midterm and has already achieved some successes. The aim of the project is the cost-effective production of high quality graphene at large area, which can then be used for numerous electrode applications.
With graphene as an electrode, the researchers at the Fraunhofer FEP hope for flexible devices with higher stability.
“Graphene is a very interesting material with many possibilities,” said Beatrice Beyer, project coordinator. “Because of its opto-electrical properties and its excellent mechanical stability, we expect that the reliability of flexible electronics will be improved many times over.”
In order to compete with ITO, the transparency and conductivity of graphene must be very high. At the same time, the developed process steps must be easily scalable for later industrial use. The processes for different target substrates such as glass or flexible foil must be adapted and optimized. These many challenges are faced by a project consortium consisting of 16 partners from six EU member states and Switzerland.
The Fraunhofer FEP is coordinating the GLADIATOR project and acts as an end-user of the graphene electrode. The first hurdles have been overcome thanks to a close cooperation between the consortium partners and the first defect-free OLEDs on transparent graphene electrodes have been realized on small areas. The target of the next one and a half years is to successfully illuminate large area OLEDs.