MEGA project: Organic, heavy-metal-free, emitters for new-generation light sources

MEGA project: Organic, heavy-metal-free, emitters for new-generation light sources

25 January 2019

Intelligentsia was pleased to help organise and participate in the recent kick-off meeting of the Horizon 2020 funded MEGA project held at Kaunas University of Technology.

Intelligentsia wrote the grant proposal for the €1,7M euro, four-year project, which aims to develop organic, heavy-metal-free, fluorescent materials for use in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) and organic lasers.

It is anticipated that these new materials will enable organic electronic devices to be constructed with higher efficiency, simpler device structures, lower fabrication costs, and reduced environmental impact.

Amongst the different types of materials currently being investigated, two show particular promise:

Fluorescence materials exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) for use in OLEDs in displays and lighting devices.
Fluorescent materials with low thresholds for amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) for use in organic lasers in spectroscopy and telecommunication.

However, to develop these materials for commercial industrial use, several challenges still remain to be overcome, including:

Theories explaining TADF and ASE are still in their infancy.
Organic material samples need to be extremely pure (>99.5%). Consequently, new synthesis routes need to be developed.
TADF emitters for OLEDs have lifetimes that fall well short of industry requirements.
Fluorescence emitters for lasers need high available optical gain, solution processability and narrow emission spectra with high efficiency.
Properties of TADF and lasing materials are very sensitive to structural changes.

Thus, the overall goal of the MEGA project is to tackle these challenges, in order to help develop organic fluorescent materials for commercial use.

Over the course of the project, Intelligentsia will provide administrative management and dissemination support to the twelve academic and industrial partners who hail from across Belarus, Europe, Taiwan and Ukraine.