Testimonial by Martin

A research engineer in the field of thin films,
Martin is in charge of a study that is part of the Substrates for OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) project.

"There are two main families that use organic electroluminescent diodes (OLED): displays and lighting," Martin explains. "The first is connected with screens, such as televisions or mobile phones. In this case, OLEDs are small pixels. The second, in which Saint-Gobain Recherche is interested, is connected with light sources. These are larger areas emitting a selected colour or white."

A bright flat surface (or OLED device) is obtained through the deposition of a series of thin films, each of around ten nanometres thick, on a substrate such as glass. This device is composed of a stack comprising a first electrode, organic light emitting layers and a second electrode. The two electrodes respectively provide the positive and negative charges to the organic layers which transform them into light.

"As part of the *Electrode for OLED* study for which I am responsible, our goal is to provide OLED manufacturers with a substrate that has an alternative electrode. Currently, the most widely used electrode is composed of indium tin oxide (ITO). Our solution is a stack comprising one or more layers of silver. This reduces costs for OLED manufacturers, since indium is a rare and expensive material. In addition, this alternative electrode can be used in the production of larger OLEDs, without downgrading the uniformity of the surface light.  This study, which is still in the research stage, has already shown its potential in recent projects."