Single-layer LEDs

A Florida State University engineering professor, Zhibin Yu, has developed a new cheaper and better LED technology.

The new technology was developed using a combination of organic and inorganic materials. The material, which dissolves and can be applied like paint, shines a blue, green or red light. But what makes it really special is that it’s far simpler to manufacture than existing products on the market. Most LED materials require engineers to put four or five layers of material on top of each other to create the desired product or effect. Yu’s material only requires one layer.

“It can potentially revolutionise lighting technology,” said Yu, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. 

“In general, the cost of LED lighting has been a big concern thus far. Energy savings have not balanced out high costs. This could change that.

“In the future, to do manufacturing, it’s a big challenge if you have to deal with multiple layers,” he said.

His research has resulted in an award by the National Science Foundation to further investigate the essential materials and establish the processing platform for the development of intrinsically stretchable, active-matrix organic LED displays. The discovery was reported in the journal Advanced Materials.

The research is crucial to the development of LED technology, which is fast becoming an avenue to reduce electricity consumption. Widespread adoption of LED lighting has been slow because of the costs associated with the material and the quality.

Yu is a researcher at the FSU’s High-Performance Materials Institute (HPMI), a multidisciplinary research institute dedicated to the research and development of advanced materials and manufacturing technologies.

Other authors on the journal article published in Advanced Materials were FSU postdoctoral researcher Junqiang Li and graduate students Sri Ganesh Bade and Xin Shan.