[November 21, 2009] Applied Materials, Merck and Braunschweig University Report Receiving Funding by German Government for OLED Research Tweet Nov 20, 2009 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Applied Materials, Inc., Merck KGaA and the Braunschweig University of Technology announced that they have been awarded a grant by Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research to develop processes to lower the cost of manufacturing organic light-emitting diode lighting for general illumination applications. Applied said it will spearhead the three-year project, named Light InLine (LILi), joining forces with Merck, a manufacturer of OLED materials and TU-BS, an internationally recognized center for OLED research. Work on the LILi project will be centered at Applied Materials' development facility in Alzenau, Germany. "Solid state lighting is a component of an energy-efficient future," said Dr. Mark Pinto, senior VP, corporate chief technology officer and general manager of Applied's Energy and Environmental Solutions Organization. "OLED technology aligns well with our equipment used for manufacturing flat panel displays. We've already delivered a system that is now in pilot manufacturing at a European lighting manufacturer. Through the LILi project, we expect to further optimize this technology to increase the quality and drive down the cost for OLED lighting applications." "Merck has a wealth of experience in developing and scaling up the complex organic compounds that are essential for stable OLED manufacturing," said Dr. Udo Heider, VP, Liquid Crystals/OLED, Merck KGaA. "The LILi project is a great opportunity for us to test new organic materials with manufacturing equipment in order to validate their stability and performance on large area substrates." "Innovation in OLED technology is one of the primary focuses of our institute," said Professor Wolfgang Kowalsky from TU-BS. "We're pleased to partner with Applied Materials and Merck to evaluate how our new high-efficiency OLED lighting device structures will perform in an industrial-scale environment." The total cost of the OLED project will amount to approximately EUR7.49 million, which includes EUR3.26 million to be provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and EUR4.23 million to be contributed by the industry partners. The grant (FKZ 13N10611) is part of the BMBF's "OLED 2 - Organic Light Emitting Diodes - Phase 2" initiative, which seeks to support OLED collaborative research and encourage OLED manufacturing in Germany. Merck is a global pharmaceutical and chemical company. The Braunschweig University of Technology is the oldest technical university in Germany. It was founded in 1745 and is member of TU9, an incorporated society of the German Institutes of Technology. Applied Materials is a developer of nanomanufacturing technology solutions with a portfolio of equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, electronics and energy efficient glass. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]