The National Energy Technology Laboratory, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is pleased to announce the following selections for solid-state lighting (SSL) funding opportunities. Eight projects were chosen in response to the Core Technology (Round 7), Product Development (Round 7), and U.S. Manufacturing (Round 2) Funding Opportunity Announcements. These selections are anticipated to significantly contribute to the goal of the SSL program:
By 2025, develop advanced solid-state lighting technologies that, compared to conventional lighting technologies, are much more energy efficient, longer lasting, and cost competitive by targeting a product system efficiency of 50 percent with lighting that accurately reproduces sunlight spectrum.
Four selections have been made in response to Core Technology Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0000329. These selections are expected to fill key technology gaps, improve scientific knowledge, and provide performance data, which are all critical to the widespread deployment of solid-state lighting for general lighting purposes. The total value of selections for Core Technology Research is $5.5 million; the performers of cooperative agreements will provide an average of 21 percent as cost-share.
Two selections have been made in response to Product Development FOA DE-FOA-0000330. These selections are focused on the development or improvement of commercially viable SSL materials, devices, or systems with the cost and performance parameters necessary for successful market introduction. The total value of Product Development selections is $4.6 million; the performers will provide an average of 22 percent as cost-share.
Two selections have been made in response to U.S. Manufacturing FOA DE-FOA-0000334. These selections are focused on achieving significant cost reductions and enhanced quality through improvements in manufacturing equipment, processes, or monitoring techniques. These projects will address the technical challenges that must be overcome to drive costs down to a level where SSL will compete with other lighting options. The total value of manufacturing selections is $8.9 million; the performers will provide an average of 22 percent as cost-share.
All eight selections are part of a new DOE initiative to accelerate the adoption of SSL technology through improvements that reduce costs and enhance product quality and performance. They will also play an important role in encouraging U.S.-based manufacturing of SSL technologies, creating jobs, and promoting America's role as a global leader in energy efficiency.
The six selections that fall under Core Technology and Product Development are covered under the Exceptional Circumstances Determination issued by DOE in June 2004. All of the selections are listed below (subject to negotiation).
Core Technology Research Selections
Recipient: University of Rochester
Title: Light Extraction from OLEDs Using Plasmonic Nanoparticle Layers to Suppress Total Internal Reflection
Summary: This project seeks to increase the efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes by improving the device's light extraction through the use of a silver nanoparticle scattering layer. The goal for this project is to demonstrate a light extraction efficiency of 70 percent.
Recipient: Arizona Board of Regents for Arizona State University
Title: High Efficiency and Stable White OLED Using a Single Emitter
Summary: This project seeks to demonstrate an efficient and stable white OLED using a single emitter on a planar glass substrate with a luminous efficacy of 50 lumens per watt, operational lifetime of 10,000 hours at a brightness of 1000 candelas per meter.
Recipient: Research Triangle Institute
Title: Solid-State Lighting Luminaire Reliability Model
Summary: This project seeks to develop and validate a reliability model and accelerated life testing (ALT) methodologies for predicting the lifetime of integrated solid-state lighting (SSL) luminaires. The ultimate outcome from this project will be a reliability prediction tool for SSL luminaires and new ALT methodologies for evaluating the system performance of SSL luminaires in less than 3,000 hours of testing.
Recipient: Soraa Inc.
Title: Light Emitting Diodes on Semipolar Bulk GaN Substrate with IQE >80% at 150 A/cm2 and 100C
Summary: This project seeks to develop high efficiency semipolar GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) for high current density, high temperature operations. The expected improvements at the device level will enable cost-effective solid-state white light sources with an estimated 150 lumens per watt efficacy.
Product Development Selections
Recipient: Philips Lumileds Lighting Company, LLC
Title: High Power Warm White Hybrid LED Package for Illumination
Summary: This project seeks to make use of multi-junction high-voltage low-current (HVLC) LED designs. The drive voltage of the HVLC LED array will be on the order of 100 to 200 V, which will simplify driver requirements, improve driver efficiency by up to 5 percent, and reduce system cost. The proposed warm white (WW) LED package will deliver illumination-grade WW light, have a correlated color temperature range between 2700 K and 3500 K, color rendering index value (CRI) of 80, 650 lumen output, and an efficacy of 130 lumens per watt at hot operation (junction temperature of 85°C).
Recipient: Cree Inc.
Title: High Efficiency Integrated Package
Summary: This project seeks to investigate various optical, thermal, and phosphor integration trade-offs in their high brightness package design and fabrication. The research will enable high efficacy warm white LED packages with efficacies of 128 lumens per watt at 3000 K correlated color temperature and a color rendering index >85.
Manufacturing Selections
Recipient: Veeco Process Equipment Inc.
Title: Development of Production PVD-AlN Buffer Layer System and Processes to Reduce Epitaxy Costs and Increase LED Efficiency
Summary: The overall objective of this project is to enable a 60 percent reduction in epitaxy manufacturing costs. This will be accomplished through the introduction of a high-productivity reactive sputtering system and an effective sputtered aluminum-nitride (AlN) buffer/nucleation layer process.
Recipient: Moser Baer Technologies Inc.
Title: Process and Product Yield Improvements for Low-Cost Manufacturing of OLEDs
Summary: This project seeks to reduce the cost of manufacturing OLED lighting panels by providing a path to improved yield and widened manufacturing process windows at all stages of the OLED device fabrication. Moser Baer Technologies' 150mm x 150mm pilot manufacturing line in Canandaigua, New York, will be used as the focus point to demonstrate these yield improvement technologies in a manufacturing environment.