In collaboration with researchers from the University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University, OLEDWorks announced a new significant advancement in OLED lighting technology.

New high aspect ratio OLEDs have been designed to significantly improve device lifetime and efficiency without altering OLED formulations or manufacturing processes.

The new approach addresses this by fabricating OLEDs on substrates with sub-millimeter, high aspect ratio surface textures. This design increases the active OLED area per panel, reducing the local current density needed to achieve a given luminance.

“This innovation tackles one of the most persistent barriers to OLED lighting adoption,” said Profs. Chris Giebink and Max Shtein, the lead researchers at the University of Michigan. “By reducing current density through geometric design, we unlock both efficiency and reliability gains without changing the OLED chemistry.”

The research team validated the concept using green phosphorescent and blue fluorescent OLEDs, achieving uniform layer deposition on corrugated substrates with area enhancement factors up to 1.4×. 

Key Results

• 2.7× Longer Lifetime: Blue fluorescent OLEDs built on high aspect ratio substrates demonstrated a 2.7-fold increase in operating lifetime compared to planar controls. 
• Up to 40% Higher Light Extraction Efficiency: Corrugated substrates scatter trapped light, significantly boosting external quantum efficiency beyond conventional planar designs. 
• Compatibility with Existing Manufacturing: The technique uses standard vacuum thermal evaporation and can integrate with tandem OLED stacks, offering a scalable solution for commercial production. 

Beyond performance improvements, the approach leverages commercially available textured films and is compatible with thin-film encapsulation strategies, paving the way for integration into existing and future OLED products. 

Dr. Marina Kondakova, Director of R&D, Lighting at OLEDWorks, added, “High aspect ratio OLEDs represent a practical solution to a longstanding challenge in solid-state lighting. This approach can be implemented on existing production lines, accelerating the path to market for more durable, energy-efficient OLED products.”

The full study, High Aspect Ratio Organic Light-Emitting Diodes, is published in ”Nature Communications”and can be viewed here.