25 October 2008

New Kodak Material Boosts
OLED Performance and Energy Efficiency

Eastman Kodak Company, a pioneer in organic light emitting diode technology (OLED), today announced the introduction of a highly efficient OLED material that will enable low-power, full-color displays with outstanding lifetimes.

The new material, trademarked KODAK OLED Material EK-GD403, utilizes green dopant technology to deliver a new level of OLED display performance and reliability. Green dopants are materials that control color output and boost efficiency.

"The benefits of OLED technology are well-known and Kodak is working to extend those benefits and accelerate OLED adoption for numerous applications," said Dr. James Buntaine, Chief Technical Officer and Vice President, Kodak OLED Systems.

"In addition to display screens, Kodak's new green dopant can be used to boost the efficiency of solid-state lighting applications and reinforces Kodak's environmental stewardship by enabling future devices with lower power consumption and longer lives."

According to market research firm DisplaySearch, an NPD Group company, the worldwide OLED flat panel display industry is expected to grow to more than $17 billion annually by 2015. In addition, NanoMarkets predicts that the OLED solid-state lighting industry will grow to more than $5 billion in revenue by 2015.

"Kodak has continued to make greater than 50 percent year-over-year improvements in OLED luminance efficiencies over the past few years, and we will continue to fill the pipeline with new innovation to ensure that Kodak OLED materials are ready for use in emerging large-market applications," said Corey Hewitt, Operations Manager and Vice President, Kodak OLED Systems.

Earlier this year Frost & Sullivan recognized Kodak's position as an OLED pioneer by presenting the company with its 2008 Technology Leadership Award.

KODAK OLED Material EK-GD403, used in combination with Kodak OLED Material EK-BH109, provides low-voltage green OLEDs with luminous efficiencies greater than 31 cd/A and lifetimes in excess of 65,000 hours (from an initial luminance of 1,000 cd/m2) and results in an external quantum efficiency of 8.7%.