Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2021 - 31

Compound for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs)
The material could enable cheaper and more environmentally friendly displays and
large-area lighting.
Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland

esearchers have gained insights into
a promising material for organic
light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The substance enables high light yields and
would be inexpensive to produce on a
large scale. The newly generated understanding will facilitate the rapid and
cost-efficient development of new lighting appliances in the future.
The compound is a yellowish solid;
when dissolved in a liquid or a thin layer
is placed on an electrode and an electric
current is applied, it gives off an intense
green glow - the molecules absorb the
energy supplied to them and gradually

emit it again in the form of light. This
process is called electroluminescence.
This green luminescent substance is a
candidate for producing OLEDs. For a
number of years, OLEDs have been
found in the displays of smartphones and
other devices such as flexible television
screens. In addition, OLEDs make costefficient room lighting with a large surface area possible. The materials best suited to these applications still need to be
found since many substances under consideration for OLEDs contain expensive
materials such as iridium, impeding their
application on a large scale and on exten-

CuPCP gives off an intense green glow when current is applied or it is under UV light. (Photo:
University of Bremen/Matthias Vogt)

sive surfaces. Without such additives, the
materials can actually emit only a small
part of the energy supplied to them as
light; the rest is lost as vibrational energy.
The goal of current research is to find
more efficient materials for cheaper and
more environmentally friendly displays
and large-area lighting. Inexpensive and
readily available metals such as copper
promise progress. Researchers have made
a more precise examination of the coppercontaining compound CuPCP. There are
four copper atoms in the middle of each
molecule, surrounded by carbon and phosphorus atoms. Copper is a relatively inexpensive metal and the compound itself
can be easily produced in large quantities.
Researchers took a look at the shortlived excited states of the copper compound. The measurements confirmed
that the substance is a good candidate for
OLEDs due to its chemical structure. The
compound's quantum chemical properties make it possible to achieve a high light
yield. One reason for this is that the molecule is relatively stiff and its 3D structure
changes only slightly when excited. The
measurement data will help chemists
understand which part of the molecule
stands in the way of high efficiency and
how the compound can be improved to
increase its light output.
For more information, contact Dagmar
Baroke at dagmar.baroke@psi.ch; +41 56
310 29 16 .

Kodiak 3D LiDAR
This system provides low-cost, reliable 3D LiDAR images in nearly any lighting condition.
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

igh-orbit satellite servicing and planetary science missions are presented
with unique challenges including a harsh
environment and long mission life, coupled with the need for long-range, highspeed, accurate measurements. Conventional systems suffer from high costs of
bringing other solutions to market and
questionable reliability.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
developed the Kodiak 3D LiDAR system
that consists of microelectromechanical
systems (MEMS) beam steering, high-per-

formance reconfigurable computing,
and an in-depth understanding of systems-level integration. Kodiak combines
a 3D MEMS scanning LiDAR with a longrange, narrow field-of-view (FOV) telescope to produce a flexible and capable
spaceflight ranging system. Also included
is SpaceCube-level processing power to
host a variety of algorithms, enabling
sensing and six degrees of freedom.
The Kodiak LiDAR offers low size,
weight, and power (SWaP) requirements
and is capable of generating 3D imaging

Tech Briefs, February 2021

www.techbriefs.com

Cov

ToC

in nearly any lighting condition from
long ranges. In addition to space detection and ranging, applications include
proximity laser ranging and autonomous vehicles.
NASA is actively seeking licensees to commercialize this technology. Please contact
NASA's Licensing Concierge at AgencyPatent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov or call us
at 202-358-7432 to initiate licensing discussions. Follow this link for more information:
https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/GSCTOPS-212.
31

https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/GSC-TOPS-212 http://www.techbriefs.com http://www.abpi.net/ntbpdfclicks/l.php?202102TBNAV

Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2021