2433105
Project Grant
Overview
Grant Description
SBIR Phase I: High light-throughput electrodes for top-emitting and transparent OLED displays.
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is the generation of more efficient and brighter organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are the individual lighting emitting elements within the displays of our cell phones, tablets, and smart watches.
This project seeks to provide the same quality of OLED display but at 1.5% higher efficiency, thereby allowing a phone, for example, to run at 11% less power, with potential savings as high as 19%.
If one considers the power used by the 4.9 billion cell phones worldwide (equivalent to the power generation for the state of Delaware), the cumulative saved power provides a significant effect in aggregate.
Beyond large aggregate energy savings, this project provides other benefits to the end consumer.
These include better brightness for outdoor usage of phones/watches/tablets, better viewing in augmented reality or virtual reality headsets, and even potential improvements in see-through display applications.
The efficient and brighter OLEDs are enabled by the project’s ultra-thin chemical adlayer, which is placed on top of the materials in the OLED stack, resulting in superior transparency of the top-laying metal electrode.
This circumvents the problem that has long vexed OLED display manufacturers, specifically, that the thin metal electrode providing electrical current to the materials in the OLED stack needs to be both transparent and conductive.
Normally, reducing the thickness of the electrode improves transparency, but severely diminishes conductivity.
As such, this thin metal cannot be reduced any further, and still limits the amount of light that can pass from the OLED.
The project avoids this issue by making the metal a more uniform (continuous) layer by reducing self-aggregation of the metal, allowing the metal to retain high conductivity at a much lower thickness.
This effect is enabled by the project’s technology, which is an unusually effective nucleation inducer.
The project validates the effectiveness of the chemical adlayer in OLED pixels and then optimizes chemical structure for increased effectiveness.
The resultant chemical treatment is then capable of reaching the targeted metric of 1.5% more efficient/brightness OLED pixel.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Subawards are not planned for this award.
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is the generation of more efficient and brighter organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are the individual lighting emitting elements within the displays of our cell phones, tablets, and smart watches.
This project seeks to provide the same quality of OLED display but at 1.5% higher efficiency, thereby allowing a phone, for example, to run at 11% less power, with potential savings as high as 19%.
If one considers the power used by the 4.9 billion cell phones worldwide (equivalent to the power generation for the state of Delaware), the cumulative saved power provides a significant effect in aggregate.
Beyond large aggregate energy savings, this project provides other benefits to the end consumer.
These include better brightness for outdoor usage of phones/watches/tablets, better viewing in augmented reality or virtual reality headsets, and even potential improvements in see-through display applications.
The efficient and brighter OLEDs are enabled by the project’s ultra-thin chemical adlayer, which is placed on top of the materials in the OLED stack, resulting in superior transparency of the top-laying metal electrode.
This circumvents the problem that has long vexed OLED display manufacturers, specifically, that the thin metal electrode providing electrical current to the materials in the OLED stack needs to be both transparent and conductive.
Normally, reducing the thickness of the electrode improves transparency, but severely diminishes conductivity.
As such, this thin metal cannot be reduced any further, and still limits the amount of light that can pass from the OLED.
The project avoids this issue by making the metal a more uniform (continuous) layer by reducing self-aggregation of the metal, allowing the metal to retain high conductivity at a much lower thickness.
This effect is enabled by the project’s technology, which is an unusually effective nucleation inducer.
The project validates the effectiveness of the chemical adlayer in OLED pixels and then optimizes chemical structure for increased effectiveness.
The resultant chemical treatment is then capable of reaching the targeted metric of 1.5% more efficient/brightness OLED pixel.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Subawards are not planned for this award.
Awardee
Funding Goals
THE GOAL OF THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, "NSF SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR)/ SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAMS PHASE I", IS IDENTIFIED IN THE LINK: HTTPS://WWW.NSF.GOV/PUBLICATIONS/PUB_SUMM.JSP?ODS_KEY=NSF23515
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding / Funding Agency
Place of Performance
Chicago,
Illinois
60660-1537
United States
Geographic Scope
Single Zip Code
Molecular Interfaces was awarded
Project Grant 2433105
worth $274,953
from National Science Foundation in January 2025 with work to be completed primarily in Chicago Illinois United States.
The grant
has a duration of 1 year and
was awarded through assistance program 47.084 NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships.
The Project Grant was awarded through grant opportunity NSF Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Programs.
SBIR Details
Research Type
SBIR Phase I
Title
SBIR Phase I: High Light-Throughput Electrodes for Top-Emitting and Transparent OLED Displays
Abstract
The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is the generation of more efficient and brighter organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) which are the individual lighting emitting elements within the displays of our cell phones, tablets, and smart watches. This project seeks to provide the same quality of OLED display but at 1.5 higher efficiency, thereby allowing a phone, for example, to run at 11% less power, with potential savings as high as 19%. If one considers the power used by the 4.9 billion cell phones worldwide (equivalent to the power generation for the state of Delaware) the cumulative saved power provides a significant effect in aggregate. Beyond large aggregate energy savings, this project provides other benefits to the end consumer. These include better brightness for outdoor usage of phones/watches/tablets, better viewing in augmented reality or virtual reality headsets, and even potential improvements in see-through display applications.
The efficient and brighter OLEDs are enabled by the project’s ultra-thin chemical adlayer which is placed on top of the materials in the OLED stack, resulting in superior transparency of the top-laying metal electrode. This circumvents the problem that has long vexed OLED display manufacturers, specifically, that the thin metal electrode providing electrical current to the materials in the OLED stack needs to be both transparent and conductive. Normally, reducing the thickness of the electrode improves transparency, but severely diminishes conductivity. As such, this thin metal cannot be reduced any further, and still limits the amount of light that can pass from the OLED. The project avoids this issue by making the metal a more uniform (continuous) layer by reducing self-aggregation of the metal, allowing the metal to retain high conductivity at a much lower thickness. This effect is enabled by the project’s technology, which is an unusually effective nucleation inducer. The project validates the effectiveness of the chemical adlayer in OLED pixels and then optimizes chemical structure for increased effectiveness. The resultant chemical treatment is then capable of reaching the targeted metric of 1.5 more efficient/brightness OLED pixel.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Topic Code
S
Solicitation Number
NSF 23-515
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 9/17/24
Period of Performance
1/1/25
Start Date
12/31/25
End Date
Funding Split
$275.0K
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$275.0K
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
2433105
SAI Number
None
Award ID URI
SAI EXEMPT
Awardee Classifications
Small Business
Awarding Office
491503 TRANSLATIONAL IMPACTS
Funding Office
491503 TRANSLATIONAL IMPACTS
Awardee UEI
M1JQY56LJY57
Awardee CAGE
None
Performance District
IL-09
Senators
Richard Durbin
Tammy Duckworth
Tammy Duckworth
Modified: 9/17/24