What are OLED lights?

OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Diode.OLED lamp technology, unlike OLED displays, is primarily used in general purpose lighting and automotive applications.OLEDs offer the advantages of uniform light emission and an ultra-thin, lightweight form factor, making them more suitable for these applications.

OLED technology can be used to build solid-state lighting (SSL), which consists of a thin carbon-based organic layer sandwiched between two electrodes. When a direct current is switched on, holes and electrons are injected into the organic layer from the anode and cathode, respectively, forming excited states on the organic molecule. Electroluminescence occurs when the excitons in the excited state jump to the ground state, thus emitting light.

The colour or wavelength of the light emitted depends on the structure of the organic molecule forming the excited state. For OLED technology, a wide range of light colours are available. OLED lighting, on the other hand, is a mixture of organics that have been carefully screened to achieve the desired white light spectrum.

OLED lighting panels use a transparent substrate that provides the mechanical structure and desired optical properties. The substrate consists of a patterned transparent conductor layer, typically indium tin oxide (ITO), used as the bottom electrode or anode. An ultra-thin layer of organic material is placed on the anode surface, followed by a metal cathode or second electrode. The entire OLED stack is thinner than a hair, and each layer can contain multiple organic materials.

Unlike inorganic LEDs, organic materials are disordered and do not need to form single crystals to emit light efficiently or be placed on expensive crystalline substrates. As a result, the light-emitting area of OLED lighting can cover a large portion of the substrate and provide a wide-angle, low-glare, hot-spot-free light source, which is ideal for large-area light sources. When the electrodes are patterned, the broad, flat light emission of OLED lighting also has the ability to selectively target specific areas of the panel with high contrast, conveying additional communication messages through movement, customisation and branding.

Principles of OLED light technology
Design
Working with architects, designers, luminaire manufacturers, automotive customers and speciality product innovators of all kinds, I have been able to consider the question "Why OLEDs? Different advantages will be the reason for using OLEDs in different applications. However, the common thread is that OLEDs offer unique advantages in designing solutions.

OLED light panels are ultra-thin and lightweight. They do not generate heat like other light sources and therefore do not require a heat sink. In fact, the OLED panel itself can essentially be considered a fixture when attached to a driver.

The OLED amber colour contains no blue light, making it ideal for nighttime rhythm management and sleep patterns. Several studies have shown that the pure amber colour, which does not contain blue light, can ease anxiety in patients and the elderly, making it ideal for healthcare.

Health and Comfort
The dangers of blue light are a hot topic these days. Exposure to high-intensity blue light wavelengths has been linked to macular degeneration and circadian rhythm disruption, depending on the length of exposure. Light sources such as fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps that emit bright, cool white light are the most harmful to the human eye.

OLEDs are inherently safe because they emit all wavelengths of light, including blue light, and the intensity of light emitted by OLEDs is well below the standard levels that pose a risk. The conclusion from the IEC standard on the physiological risk of blue and infrared light emitted by OLEDs - OLEDs do not pose a risk to the skin or the eyes, and there is no photobiological risk.

Wide-spectrum OLED lamps offer a full colour palette while eliminating most of the negative characteristics of artificial lighting solutions such as UV, glare, shadows and flickering.OLEDs are not only bright, they are also unparalleled in their softness, improving the environment and providing a daylight-like light that makes you feel like it's daytime even if you're indoors all day.

Sustainability
Nearly 20 per cent of the world's electricity is used for lighting. At the same time, lighting energy accounts for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is equivalent to approximately 1.9 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is about 70% of the emissions from all passenger cars in the world (source: United Nations Environment Programme). These figures can be significantly reduced by using energy-efficient lighting such as OLED lighting.

OLEDWorks panels last more than 30 times longer than inefficient incandescent lamps. Tests have shown that OLED lighting is becoming as efficient as LEDs, with energy savings of up to 80 per cent. This indicates that OLED lighting is more energy efficient when compared to traditional light bulbs. In addition, the manufacturing process for this light source is very efficient - OLEDs are a sustainable light source in many ways.

OLDE lamps are surface light sources, eliminating the need for a diffusing screen to diffuse the light. This can be a huge advantage, as systems can lose up to 70% of their light output when using conventional light sources. this is not a problem with OLED technology, where the efficiency of the light source is equal to the efficiency of the system.

Since OLED lighting is made up of almost 100% glass, it can be easily recycled at the end of its useful life, and OLEDWorks' OLED lamp technology is also compliant with the European Union's stringent RoHS and REACH standards for hazardous materials. With OLED technology, users not only get an attractive surface light source, but this light source is uniquely green. With every OLED lighting solution added to the market, users will surely reduce their electricity bills and also help to reduce global lighting energy consumption.

OLED vs.
LEDs are tiny, highly concentrated light sources that are ideally suited for generating the intense beams of light needed in automotive headlights, spotlights and other high-intensity focused lighting applications. For LEDs to be suitable for general-purpose lighting or other low-intensity applications, the LED light must be diffused, scattered and homogenised, ultimately reducing the luminous energy efficiency delivered.

In contrast, OLED lighting panels are naturally homogeneous and glare-free, and thus the energy efficiency of OLED lighting panels matches the light efficiency delivered. The effect is so dramatic that in applications such as automotive taillights, OLED lighting solutions are more energy efficient and emit more uniform light than LED lighting solutions.

In general purpose lighting today, the combination of OLED and LED lighting will provide the highest ultimate energy efficiency for different applications. By utilising the benefits of both, the lowest energy consumption and human-centric lighting solutions can be achieved.

OLED Display vs. OLED Lighting
Both OLED displays and OLED lighting are based on the same solid-state physical principles. Simply put, OLED technology consists of organic semiconductor materials that emit light when energised.OLED materials emit light directly across the full wavelength range, eliminating the need for phosphor conversion to obtain the desired spectrum.

OLEDs have a unique quality of light for two applications. For lighting, the output of OLED luminaires naturally diffuses the light beam to deliver a glare-free, full-colour experience that is visually comfortable and pleasant. For the display field, direct full-colour output enables a high colour gamut, including pure black.

As a functional light source, OLEDs provide illumination with uniform light emission, higher brightness, white spectrum, and larger emitting surface. OLED luminaires are ideally suited to meet these needs, as they generally require a long lifetime of illumination, often in excess of 10 years. In contrast, displays, which are typically much less bright and have individually controllable red, green, and blue (RGB) pixels, have a relatively short lifespan. Displays transmit images, video and messages - often at very high image data rates (over 120Hz). OLED luminaires, on the other hand, provide functional and background lighting, and are sometimes used to provide communication messages.