Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP will be presenting OLEDs on gauzy stainless steel foil during AIMCAL 2017 in Tampa/USA, from October 15 – 18, 2017. The application was developed in cooperation with the Nippon Steel & Sumikin Materials Co., Ltd. (NSMAT) and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC).
For a few years, stainless steel foil has been used as a substrate for flexible electronic components. In comparison to the conventional substrate materials like glass or plastic web the material possesses special properties for this purpose and is well-suited as a substrate for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), for example. Due to the planarization layer developed by NSSMC and the comparatively good thermal conductivity of stainless steel, homogenous large-area lighting surfaces with current densities of more than 10 mA/cm² have become better applicable.
Moreover, OLEDs need to be protected from water vapor and oxygen in order that the organic layers remain fully functional. Stainless steel provides excellent barrier properties against environmental influences and is therefore suitable as a substrate for OLEDs from this standpoint as well.