In this paper achievements utilising Organic Vapor Phase Deposition (OVPD) are reviewed and presented together with recent results. Organic thin films could be deposited with a high degree of accuracy and reproducibility. Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) were compared to devices manufactured with conventional techniques and showed similar or even slightly better performance. The combination of OVPD with Close Coupled Showerhead (CCS) technology results in manufacturing equipment with vast potential for cost effective manufacturing of OLED displays commercially competitive to LCD.

As organic light emitting device (OLED) technology is building up momentum in the commercial marketplace, phosphorescent OLEDs (PHOLEDs^TM) are proving themselves to be an ideal display medium for a wide range of product applications: from small mobile displays to large area TVs. As part of this work we continue to advance PHOLED technology by new materials design and device architectures. For example a green PHOLED with 4.3 V, 70 cd/A, 50 lm/W and > 10,000 hours lifetime at 1,000 cd/m² is reported. PHOLEDs enable very low power consumption displays with low display operating temperatures, and can be deposited by a range of different deposition techniques. Along with state-of-the-art device performance we report results on the ruggedness of PHOLED materials in high volume manufacturing environments.

Future electronic systems will create "ambient intelligence": environments that recognise us, applications which can be used intuitively. Displays will always be a key part of such systems, because visual information provides a densely packed fast link to our brain. European researchers and suppliers are global drivers in display innovation - on the other hand Europe is a major influence on the market for display applications. However, today displays are produced in Asia, European research and development is scattered, and lacks both collaboration and a strong production base. That is why adria, a European network for the displays community, has been formed: Its goal is to substantially enhance the standing of the displays industry in Europe by creating a common knowledge base, by generating a common vision for a display future in Europe and by establishing appreciated services for a future association that will serve as a "one-stop-shop" for the community. To effectively start the discussion, a vision paper¹ has been compiled including inputs from 95 individuals from 17 European countries. It describes the state displays research and industry are in today and estimates future developments displays will take towards intelligent systems in the next decade and beyond. Recommendations are made to reinforce the displays industry in a sustainable way building on existing strengths in research, as well as in the materials and equipment sectors. The adria network, its roadmapping approach as well as key projections and findings of the vision paper are described here, going beyond the topic of Organic Light Emitting Diodes alone.

A polymer thin-film optical touch and proximity sensor is presented. The sensor is based on the monolithic integration of polymer light emitting diodes, logos or displays, and polymer photodiodes on a common substrate. The main interest in this new form of optical sensor lies in its potentially cost-effective manufacture on thin and flexible substrates. Potential applications of such systems range from simple information displays with integrated touch-screen to biochemical sensors.

Today's OLED manufacturers need high-precision, fast tools to cut the metal screens used to deposit the electroluminescent layers onto the substrate. Conventional methods -tching and dry laser cutting - are not satisfying regarding the demands of high-definition OLED displays. A new micro machining technology, the water jet guided laser - a hybrid of laser and water jet technologies that has been actively used in recent years in the electronic and semiconductor field - is now available to OLED manufacturers. This technology represents a significant improvement in screen, mask and stencil cutting, as it combines high precision and high speed. It is able to cut small apertures with totally clean edges (no dross or slag), as the water jet removes the particles and a thin water film is maintained on the material surface during the process. Because the water jet cools the material between the laser pulses, the cut material is free of any thermal stress. The water jet guided laser is also a very fast process: as an example, rectangular slots can be cut in 30 to 50 microns thick stainless steel or nickel at a rate between 25'000 and 30'000 holes per hour.

With increasing demand for flat panel displays, which usually incorporate indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films, the price of indium will rise dramatically in the future. For simple and cheap applications (such as LogoLED™, see www.logoled.com) alternative anode materials have to be used. We will show that polymer-only anodes and wires are sufficient to fabricate patterned polymer light-emitting devices (PLEDs), such as seven segmented displays. As another approach to replace ITO we will present results from aluminum / PEDOT anodes devices with better stability and bottom & top emission.

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) have to be improved to achieve new market segments in displays and lighting applications. We present important steps towards achieving this goal in a combination of highly efficient devices, manufacturing and new driving aspects. It is generally expected that the manufacturing methods have to be made more efficient to achieve large market penetration. We firstly present results on a highly efficient RGB-OLED-system with doped transport layer, manufactured in the worldwide first vertical In-Line set-up. Additionally a second-generation passive matrix OLED controller/driver IC was developed. Though the design was application-specifically directed for the onto integration into an OLED minidisplay panel module (e.g., by pad layout design being closely related to display connection schemes), versatile service in various applications was focused on. Therefore, in general they may also act as application-specific standard products (ASSP), if their built-in functions provide compatibility to a wide range of passive-matrix OLED panels. Additionally, the second generation supports various PMOLED display resolutions, area or full-color (RGB) operating modes and circuit techniques for OLED devices lifetime improvement.

New extended fluorenylpyridine ligands FlnPy (n=1,3,5) and their triscyclometalated iridium (III) complexes Ir[FlnPy]₃ 3, 4, and 5 have been synthesised and their photophysical properties have been studied. The lowest energy (emissive) excited state of the complexes 3-5 is dominated by ligand centered ³(π→π*) triplet states, as observed in their ligands. Efficient white-polymeric light-emitting diodes (PLED) were fabricated as a single active layer containing blue emitting poly (9,9-bis(2-ethylhexyl)fluorine-2,7- diyl) endcapped with bis(4-methylphenyl)phenylamine (PF2/6am4), and yellow-orange emitting from Iridium complex 4. The fluorene-like ligands in the blended device prevent phase segregation and also enhance energy transfer from the polymer host to the guest due to efficient overlap of wavefunction (Dexter process) and host singlet emission and guest absorption bands (F&diaero;rster process) which reduces the loading level required to produce white emission. The two emitted colours complement each other and doping levels between 2% to 3% produce white emission. Above a certain current density depending on the doping level the device CIE coordinates become bias independent and a stabilised white emission can be obtained. A white emission PLED (coordinate (0. 348, 0.367) of peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 2.8 %, and luminance of 16000 cd/m2) at applied voltage of 5V (ie. 4.57 cd/A) was obtained. device CIE coordinates become bias independent and a stabilised white emission can be obtained. A white emission PLED (coordinate (0. 3477, 0.3667) of peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 2.8 %, and luminance of 16000 cd/m2 at applied voltage of 5V (ie. 4.57 cd/A) was obtained.

The presentation deals with some applications of OLED displays in military optronic systems, which are scheduled by SAGEM DS (Defence and Security). SAGEM DS, one of the largest group in the defence and security market, is currently investigating OLED Technologies for military programs. This technology is close from being chosen for optronic equipment such as future infantry night vision goggles, rifle-sight, or, more generally, vision enhancement systems. Most of those applications requires micro-display with an active matrix size below 1". Some others, such as, for instance, ruggedized flat displays do have a need for higher active matrix size (1,5" to 15"). SAGEM DS takes advantages of this flat, high luminance and emissive technology in highly integrated systems. In any case, many requirements have to be fulfilled: ultra-low power consumption, wide viewing angle, good pixel to pixel uniformity, and satisfactory behaviour in extreme environmental conditions.... Accurate measurements have been achieved at SAGEM DS on some micro display OLEDs and will be detailed: luminance (over 2000 cd/m² achieved), area uniformity and pixel to pixel uniformity, robustness at low and high temperature (-40°C to +60°C), lifetime. These results, which refer to military requirements, provide a valuable feedback representative of the state of the art OLED performances.

In OLED organic layers electron injection is improved by using alkali metals as cathodes, to lower work function or, as dopants of organic layer at cathode interface. The creation of an alkali metal layer can be accomplished through conventional physical vapor deposition from a heated dispenser. However alkali metals are very reactive and must be handled in inert atmosphere all through the entire process. If a contamination takes place, it reduces the lithium deposition rate and also the lithium total yield in a not controlled way. An innovative alkali metal dispensing technology has been developed to overcome these problems and ensure OLED alkali metal cathode reliability. The alkali Metal dispenser, called Alkamax, will be able to release up to a few grams of alkali metals (in particular Li and Cs) throughout the adoption of a very stable form of the alkali metal. Lithium, for example, can be evaporated “on demand”: the evaporation could be stopped and re-activated without losing alkali metal yield because the metal not yet consumed remains in its stable form. A full characterization of dispensing material, dispenser configuration and dispensing process has been carried out in order to optimize the evaporation and deposition dynamics of alkali metals layers. The study has been performed applying also inside developed simulations tools.