Ultra-thin, transparent and flexible – these are the attributes that distinguish the innovative OLED technology. Within the European research project PI-SCALE, with a total of 14 partners, the lighting experts of EMDE development of light act as so-called “launching customers”, i.e. as pilot customers. Together with renowned companies such as AUDI AG, Pilkington and REHAU, the experts contribute their know-how to adapting a pilot line under the LYTEUS branding to the needs of the market and customers. The aim is to make the innovative OLED lighting technology available to companies of any size in order to launch products quickly and cost-effectively. As an example of new possibilities in lighting design, EMDE development of light GmbH is presenting for the first time a prototype for a light art object at LOPEC in Munich (19 to 21 March 2019), which demonstrates the aesthetics and immaterial appeal of the latest OLED technology.

“COLORLOOP” prototype © EMDE development of light GmbH

The prototype with the name “COLORLOOP” was developed in close cooperation between the founder of the GmbH and artist Thomas Emde and his colleague, product designer Christoph Petersen. The comprehensive design concept can be seen in the object – it is both an aesthetic work of art and a smart, technologically highly innovative light object.

The EMDE development of light GmbH team has many years of experience with the new OLED light and developed the world’s first OLED luminaire series, which has been available on the market since autumn 2016 under its own OMLED brand. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) can not only produce pleasantly warm and glare-free light, but can also be colorful, transparent and flexible. In order to demonstrate the almost infinite application potential of OLEDs, the interdisciplinary team of artists, designers and engineers developed a light object that playfully handles additive color mixing and the immaterial aesthetics of ultra-thin and flexible OLEDs.

Product designer Christoph Petersen of EMDE development of light about the motivation for developing the demonstrator: “Our goal is to show the variety of new applications with OLED light on an object with which the user can interact. Our light object “COLORLOOP” plays with the effect of additive color mixing by using magnetic contacting to arrange OLEDs in the three light colors red, yellow and blue differently on spring steel rings. The spring steel rings are used for electrical contacting and mechanical fixing as well as for shaping the flexible OLEDs. An advantage of the construction of the light object is the simple exchangeability of each OLED. “

Thomas Emde adds: “With “COLORLOOP” we want to present the new transparent light directly from the laboratory to the public and show application possibilities of OLED light for the design of space and atmosphere. We see new possibilities for using light as a design element for our living spaces in the immaterial appearance of transparent OLEDs and the lightness they bring. We at “COLORLOOP” are not primarily interested in a functional benefit, but rather in creating a special atmosphere by superimposing the various light colors.”

Together with research partner VTT from Finland, a battery-powered driver with programmable control was developed for the “COLORLOOP”. This means that the light object does not require a cable and different light scenes can be retrieved.

The transparent and flexible OLEDs come from the Fraunhofer FEP in Dresden. Their pilot and research lines for roll-to-roll and sheet-to-sheet production of OLEDs are currently the only ones in Europe on which this new technology can be manufactured. The teams from EMDE and Fraunhofer FEP want to work together in the future on challenges in the production and integration of OLEDs in various applications and are open to further development with partners of industry.

The prototype   can be seen during LOPEC 2019, from 19 to 21 March 2019 at the ICM in Munich, at OE-A booth, stand no. 216 (hall B0).  In addition, the design demonstrator by EMDE was submitted to this year’s OE-A Competition 2019.

Demonstrator Competition LOPEC 2019:

• Stand: OE-A booth
• Stand-No: 2016, Hall B0
• Further information about the OE-A competition at LOPEC 2019: https://www.lopec.com/general/program/lopec-award/index.html

“COLORLOOP” prototype © EMDE development of light GmbH

The results were achieved on the joint pilot line service LYTEUS of the EU-funded PI-SCALE project and financed within the framework of the European Union’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 under grant agreement No. 688093.

Up to now, OLEDs have been used exclusively as a novel lighting technology for use in luminaires and lamps. However, flexible organic technology can offer much more: as an active lighting surface, it can be combined with a wide variety of materials, not just to modify but to revolutionize the functionality and design of countless existing products. To exemplify this, the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP together with the company EMDE development of light GmbH will be presenting hybrid flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLEDs) integrated into textile designs within the EU-funded project PI-SCALE for the first time at LOPEC (March 19-21, 2019 in Munich, Germany) as examples of some of the many possible applications.

The Fraunhofer FEP, a provider of research and development services in the field of organic electronics, has long been involved in the development of technologies and processes for organic electronics and component integration. The team at the design company of EMDE development of light GmbH also has many years of experience with the new organic light-emitting diode light (OLED), including development of the world’s first OLED luminaire series. OLEDs cannot only emit colored and wide area light, but they themselves are also extremely low-profile and flexible, allowing them to be integrated into many types and shapes of surfaces. They can be even be designed to be transparent and dimmable. To demonstrate the sheer endless potential for employing OLEDs, the designers at EMDE are now integrating flexible OLEDs for the first time into a motorcycle jacket. Used as a material for clothing, OLEDs not only can trigger completely new aesthetic trends, they can also provide active illumination instead of just limited reflectance. This enhanced visibility from all angles means the wearer can be seen more clearly, increasing rider safety.

This is made possible by fabricating the OLEDs on flexible substrates such as plastic films and connecting them to conductive threading for their supply of electrical power. Together with the HOLST Center in Eindhoven, the Fraunhofer FEP in Dresden, Germany, has now for the first time implemented an extended approach of the technology for the OLED on the joint pilot line service LYTEUS within the EU-funded project PI-SCALE – a hybrid OLED.

These new flexible luminous surfaces combine the advantages of printed and evaporated layers in one component. Specifically, the passivation layers, the metallization, and an organic layer were printed in a roll-to-roll process on barrier films from the HOLST Centre (Netherlands). All the subsequent layers required by the OLED were vapor-deposited at Fraunhofer FEP with the help of its R2R evaporation tool, which is unique worldwide. Optical output is very homogeneous thanks to printed metallization over the entire surface of the component.

Claudia Keibler-Willner, head of department at the Fraunhofer FEP, explains: “We have taken a major step forward in economical fabrication processes for OLEDs. The results are impressive: the OLED shines very uniformly. The use of the roll-to-roll process also promises considerable cost reductions for future components. By combining printed and vaporized layers, process throughput and production speed can be increased up to 100 times.”

Clear advantages for designers result – infinitely long materials with practically unrestricted dimensions and configurations can be created. The only limitation is the 30 cm roll width of the substrate material. Thomas Emde of EMDE development of light GmbH looks ahead: “We are very pleased to present a first design demonstrator using the hybrid OLEDs from the EU project PI-SCALE at LOPEC 2019. After examining the first samples, we decided on a prototype that would combine imagination with a practical application. We exhibit a few meters of the hybrid OLED in its raw form from the roll as a „pure“ material component. Its transformation into a future product is illustrated through the example of our eyecatcher motorcycle jacket with luminous, integrated, flexible OLEDs. This will suggest the potential of OLEDs as an innovative surface material for interior design and product applications, fashion and textile designs, and architectural and signage uses.”

The Fraunhofer FEP and EMDE teams want to tackle challenges of fabrication and integration of OLEDs with different surfaces jointly in the future and are open to further development projects with industrial partners.

The exhibits can be seen during LOPEC 2019 in Munich, Germany from March 19-21, 2019 at Hall B0, booth no. 407 of the Fraunhofer FEP and the OE-A competition area. In addition, the aforementioned design demonstrator from EMDE as well as other design kits from Fraunhofer FEP have been submitted to this year’s OE-A Competition.

Prototypes of the Eyecatcher motorcycle jacket with luminous integrated flexible OLEDs at LOPEC 2019
© EMDE development of light GmbH

The results were achieved on the joint pilot line service LYTEUS of the EU-funded PI-SCALE project and financed within the framework of the European Union’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 under grant agreement No. 688093.

Flexible OLEDs are unlocking a world of great new lighting applications. It is uniform, bendable, ultra-thin and transparent. Flexible OLED lighting brings fresh solutions and new design freedom to ever-present challenges and possibilities. For the last three years Europe’s experts in OLEDs lighting have joined forces, combining expertise in science and technology with manufacturing scale up to create Lyteus.

At LOPEC 2019, join the Lyteus workshop to listen to successful case studies from the field and hear expert views on the current technology landscape. The workshop will bring together partners from the whole supply chain, from end users and mass manufacturing to researchers technology scale up. Technology demonstrators will also be shown ranging from lighting samples, to integrated product prototypes.

You will hear from our partner emdedesign who will discuss the use of roll to roll OLEDs for luminaires, in and around the house. Demmel AG will offer insights into flexible OLEDs for automotive and how Lyteus helped them achieve their goal.

The workshop will be held on Thursday 21st March 2019 just outside the exhibition hall at LOPEC in room 4a at 2pm. The workshop will last for 1 hour.

There will be an opportunity to view our demonstrators from the project partners involved within the workshop.

To register for the workshop please click HERE. We look forward to seeing you there.

Flexible OLED panels open up new opportunities for product packaging

Bright eye-catching packaging helps products stand out on the shelf. With OLED lighting, products can stand out even more and have the potential to add even more features to product packaging. In the case of the Lyteus bottle label, a flexible OLED panel embedded in the paper label lights up to show the logo.

The Lyteus label features a rectangular OLED panel integrated into the label, which shines through a printed cut-out in the paper label to display the logo. However, the OLEDs can be printed to produce any shape or colour. And highlighting the product brand or catching the attention of passing shoppers is just one possible application. They could also be used to highlight specific product details, such as a drink’s flavour or colour, or to provide additional information.

Integrating sensors into the packaging further extends the possible uses, opening up a whole new range of opportunities. For example, the package could light up only when touched or when the product was opened, the OLEDs could flash in time to music or light up to warn that the contents were hot.

The OLED panels are incredibly thin, just 330 µm thick, making them ideal for embedding into paper labels. They are also very flexible, so can be easily bent for curved objects like a bottle or cup. Currently, production of the OLED labels is based on a sheet-to-sheet process. For mass manufacturing for labels, the process needs to be scaled up to be able to produce large numbers of labels consistently. Therefore, Holst Centre is developing a roll-to-roll pilot production process to address the challenges of producing OLED labels in large quantities.

“We are seeing a lot of interest from the packaging market for OLED labels”, said Erno Langedijk, Business Development & Program Manager at Holst Centre. “Currently we are working towards the launch of a roll-to-roll pilot line for OLED labels, which will be needed by the industry to print the necessary volumes of labels for mass production.”

Holst Centre is also working to further develop the technology for labels. For example, the current implementation still needs wires and a cell battery. These could be replaced in the future with flat, flexible batteries or even flexible wireless charging coils. And it may eventually be possible to integrate flexible OLED displays, providing even more possibilities for attracting and informing customers about products.

For manufacturers interested in the technology, Holst Centre offers three test kits. The Starter kit includes some sample basic OLEDs panels, the Standard kit includes a wider range of shapes and colours, and the Premium kit is customized to the customer’s specific needs with OLEDs in any shape or colour.

Come and see the Lyteus stand at LED expo
Date: 7-8 February 2018
Venue: Brabanthallen, Den Bosch (NL)

Moreover Erno Langendijk leads a workshop titled “Shaping the future with OLEDs”.

Lyteus will be present at the LOPEC trade fair

Date: March 13-15, 2018
Venue: Munich Convention Center (D)
LOPEC is the leading event for printed electronics: research, development, and applications.

LOPEC (Large-area, Organic & Printed Electronics Convention) is the leading trade fair and the most important congress for the printed electronics industry.  It is the leading global platform in the industry and provides support in every aspect of the industry, from application to research. It connects, inspires and puts ideas into practice. For today and tomorrow. This is the place where printed electronics come to li