Researchers at University of Toronto Develop Organic Light-Emitting Diodes on Plastic

Researchers from the engineering division of the University of Toronto have created what they claim will be the most efficient organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) on a plastic base.

This OLED material will display a flexible form factor and will be available at comparatively less cost than the conventional OLEDs. The research work is titled ‘Unlocking the Full Potential of OLED on Flexible Plastic’ and has been published in the latest issue of Nature Photonics.

OLED materials with their low-energy and high contrast properties have quickly gained dominance as the most sought material for making advanced electronic screens. A professor of Material Science and Engineering at the University, Zheng-Hong Lu, explained that the new research findings are a significant achievement as scientists have been working on producing OLEDs on more flexible substrates like plastic rather than on heavily doped glass substrates. With plastic as the substrate, the cost of production can be reduced considerably and the designers of OLEDs are equipped with more flexible material for making the products. Professor Lu guided the research and two PhD candidates Zibin Wang and Michael G. Helander conducted the research work. The new OLED on the plastic base equalled the conventional OLED on glass and offered additional benefits of using plastic as the base. The high refractive index was reconstructed by the researchers by using a layer of tantalum(V) oxide layer of thickness 50-100 nm. This is one of the most advanced amongst coating materials and has provided the OLED with the highest efficiency that has been achieved so far.