DOE funds SSL product development to tune of $10 million

The new selections seek to examine certain high-priority product development activities that will advance the state-of-the-art SSL used for general illumination applications.

The selections have a total value of $10 million, with an average of 30 percent provided as cost-share by the industrial participants, valuing DOE's contribution at $7 million.

"Solid-state lighting is a key part of President Bush’s energy policy and the Department of Energy’s overall strategy to increase energy efficiency," said DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman. "Not only does this technology have the potential to greatly reduce lighting energy consumption in U.S. buildings, but it will also enhance our energy security."

The unique attributes of SSL drive a need for a coordinated federal approach that encompasses research, development and commercialization support. DOE’s commercialization support strategy includes the use of design competitions such as Lighting for Tomorrow and the development of ENERGY STAR® criteria for SSL products. The Department is also working closely with key standards-generating organizations to coordinate and accelerate the development of test procedures and standards for SSL.

The SSL product development selections announced today are:

Color Kinetics (Boston, MA)
An Integrated Solid-State LED Luminaire for General Lighting
This proposal seeks to develop replacement lamps for 60-watt incandescent light sources with a 4x increase in efficacy to 80 lm/W. The proposal targets package and system integration technology through the development (in conjunction with Cree) of a novel hybrid-LED source which combines direct emission sources with phosphor down-converted emissions.
Project value: $1.13 million, 25% applicant cost share. Duration: 18 months.

General Electric Global Research (Niskayuna, NY)
Phosphor Systems for Illumination Quality Solid State Lighting Products
The proposal seeks to build upon previous successful work that incorporates the use of novel nanophosphors to create white light from violet LEDs. The target is the replacement of incandescent light sources reaching 96 lm/W at CRI in excess of 80.
Project value: $3.72 million, 35% applicant cost share. Duration: 36 months

Osram Sylvania (Beverly, MA)
Phosphor White LED with High Package Extraction Efficiency
The proposal seeks to increase the external quantum efficiency using remote phosphors and employing a multi-layer thin film coating technique to increase the probability that scattered light will escape out of the device. The team targets 80 lm/W as an end device.
Project value: $0.6 million, 20% applicant cost share. Duration: 24 months

Eastman Kodak (Rochester, NY)
OLED Lighting Device Architecture
The objective of the proposal is to increase performance in OLED devices to 50 lm/W at 1000 cd/m². This will be accomplished by focusing on light extraction efficiency enhancement, low-operating voltage materials and structures, high quantum efficiency and stable white emitters, and stacked-architecture techniques.
Project value: $1.95 million, 40% applicant cost share. Duration: 24 months

SRI International (Menlo Park, CA)
Cavity Light-Emitting Diode for Durable, High-Brightness and High-Efficiency Lighting Applications
This proposal seeks to develop a surface-cavity-injection process to increase the efficiency of OLEDs. The result is an increase in efficiency by channeling light out of the device thereby reducing optical loss. The team goal is a 5x increase in the external quantum efficiency over standard OLEDs at twice the brightness.
Project value: $2.61 million, 20% applicant cost share. Duration: 36 months