Feb 21 2010
Last month, U.S. Congresswoman Lois Capps (Calif.) toured the DuPont Displays facility in Santa Barbara, Calif., and met with business and technical leaders in the DuPont OLEDs (organic light emitting diode) business to learn about how DuPont is leveraging its innovative OLED technology for displays in the lighting market. DuPont was recently awarded a $2.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a two-year project to develop a solid-state lighting source using low-cost OLED solution-processing manufacturing techniques. The Santa Barbara facility is located in Rep. Capps’ congressional district.
Rep. Lois Capps and Bill Feehery
Rep. Capps learned how DuPont is taking advantage of the experience gained in the development of OLED technology for displays, and is tailoring the technology to the unique requirements for solid-state lighting. Compared to inorganic light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are small point sources manufactured on relatively small semiconductor wafers, OLEDs provide a planar (or flat) light source, which can be made on large sheets of glass or in a roll-to-roll process, allowing significant economies in manufacturing. OLED lighting can be highly energy efficient and provide better quality light.
“I was pleased to tour this facility and meet the engineers who are conducting this groundbreaking research,” said Capps. “This is an excellent example of a partnership between DuPont and the federal government that will pay huge dividends by saving consumers money on energy costs, protecting our environment and creating good paying jobs.”
“We appreciate Rep. Capps’ time and interest in our technology,” said Bill Feehery, global business director, DuPont OLEDs. “Given the role of lighting in building energy consumption and the challenges with current efficient lighting, a long-lived, cost-effective, high-efficiency lighting technology could have significant benefits by reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. This is an area where we could have a technology leadership position.”