Molecular Building Blocks for Efficient Solid State Lighting

	Clean Technology 2007 Chapter 7: Photovoltaics and Fuel Cells
	Molecular Building Blocks for Efficient Solid State Lighting
Authors:	P.E. Burrows and L.S. Sapochak
Affilation:	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, US
Pages:	195 - 198
Keywords:	lighting, molecular, organic, solid state
Abstract:	General illumination consumes 22% of the electricity generated in the U.S. This huge proportion is partly due to the ubiquity of artificial lighting but also the inefficiency of converting electrical energy to light. Incandescent lightbulbs convert a mere 5% of the supplied power into light (most of the rest emerging as heat) whereas the more efficient fluorescent bulbs achieve about 20% efficiency. Improving the efficiency of these light sources is difficult since in all cases the emission of light is essentially a by-product of an energetic excitation process. In contrast, solid state lighting utilizes materials which directly convert electrical energy to light with little production of heat and therefore have the potential for far higher efficiency, with over 70% demonstrated in the infrared. New materials based on direct bandgap semiconductors and organic light emitters may permit this level of efficiency for general lighting. In both cases, however, understanding the nanoscale structure of the material is critical to achieving high efficiency. This is particularly evident in the case of organic molecular compounds, where weak inter-molecular interactions can permit the photophysical properties of a solid to be tuned by changing the chemical structure of the molecular building block.
ISBN:	1-4200-6382-0
Pages:	338
Order:	Online/Mail/Fax Ordering Options
Indexes:	Keywords, Authors, Affiliations
Up

Join Us

Featured Events

ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit
Washington DC, Feb. 27-29, 2012

Cleantech 2012
(joint with TechConnect World)
Santa Clara CA, June 19-21, 2012

"We've very much enjoyed being a member of CTSI. In addition to the many networking and conference opportunities, we've found the monthly newsletters to be the best consolidated source of clean technology industry information and updates on policy, grants and market intelligence."

- Patrick J. Piper, QM Power, Inc.

"Ener-G-Rotors is pleased to be a member of CTSI. CTSI has been very supportive of our efforts in clean technology, helping to connect us with key legislators, introducing us to contacts at the DOE, and providing opportunities to network with other clean technology companies."

- Michael Newell, Ener-G-Rotors, Inc.

"The Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization brings together the world's most innovative companies to provide critical thinking and technology solutions to real-world challenges."

- Dr. Ray O Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Lockheed Martin

Clean Technology 2007

Chapter 7: Photovoltaics and Fuel Cells

Molecular Building Blocks for Efficient Solid State Lighting