ITO is the abbreviation of indium tin oxide, the standard transparent conductor for most of commercial optoelectronic devices. There are not many materials being transparent and electrically conductive at the same time, for this reason and for its limited supply, its cost and demand is increasing and it is becoming crucial to find a cost effective substitute.
Researchers from the Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University (USA) have recently published in the Advanced Materials Journal a possible alternative to ITO, based on PEDOT:PSS (poly (3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)). This conductive polymer has been around for about 15 years, but until recently it was not conductive and transparent enough to be consider as an alternative to ITO. Using a multi-layering technique and special treatments, Joe Shinar and co-workers have been able to fabricate ITO-free OLEDs with enormously improved properties. They report a 44% higher efficiency compared with a standard ITO device.
Another important advantage of PEDOT:PSS versus ITO is that it is more suitable for flexible substrates, which is one of the main benefit of OLEDs versus LEDs. ITO is a ceramic, so more brittle in nature that a polymer. This achievement can lead to more affordable and cost-effective manufacturing of screen and lighting technologies, which are going to be part of our lives in a very near future.
has been around for about
15 years. Until recently, the material wasn't sufficiently conductive or
transparent enough to be a viable ITO substitute, Shinar said. But by
using a multi-layering technique and special treatments, Cai and his
fellow scientists were able to fabricate PEDOT:PSS OLEDs with vastly
improved properties.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-indium-free-light-emitting-diodes.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-indium-free-light-emitting-diodes.html#jCp
has been around for about
15 years. Until recently, the material wasn't sufficiently conductive or
transparent enough to be a viable ITO substitute, Shinar said. But by
using a multi-layering technique and special treatments, Cai and his
fellow scientists were able to fabricate PEDOT:PSS OLEDs with vastly
improved properties.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-indium-free-light-emitting-diodes.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-indium-free-light-emitting-diodes.html#jCp
has been around for about
15 years. Until recently, the material wasn't sufficiently conductive or
transparent enough to be a viable ITO substitute, Shinar said. But by
using a multi-layering technique and special treatments, Cai and his
fellow scientists were able to fabricate PEDOT:PSS OLEDs with vastly
improved properties.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-indium-free-light-emitting-diodes.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-indium-free-light-emitting-diodes.html#jCp
has been around for about
15 years. Until recently, the material wasn't sufficiently conductive or
transparent enough to be a viable ITO substitute, Shinar said. But by
using a multi-layering technique and special treatments, Cai and his
fellow scientists were able to fabricate PEDOT:PSS OLEDs with vastly
improved properties.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-indium-free-light-emitting-diodes.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-scientists-indium-free-light-emitting-diodes.html#jCp
