DOE announces $12 million in 8th round funding of SSL R&D programs

Aug. 13, 2011

With particular emphasis on meeting performance and cost targets of products for year 2020, two US DOE funding opportunities contain projects across the SSL spectrum – from LED substrate development to novel luminaire design to large-area OLEDs.

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The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it will provide $12 million for the 8th round of funding to support the advanced research, development and market adoption of solid-state lighting (SSL) technology. The submission deadline is in early November.

The funding supports two existing DOE SSL R&D program areas – core technology research and product development. The projects are designed to meet the goals spelled out in the March 2011 Multiyear Program Plan.

In the area of core research, projects will focus on applied research that fills technology gaps or provides enabling knowledge in critical areas. Projects are invited in four target areas including:

• Emitter materials research
• Down-converters
• Novel OLED materials and structures
• LED light extraction approaches.

The second program is focused on product development, applying basic or applied research to develop commercial viable devices, materials or systems. The DOE emphasizes that selected projects will have fully defined price, efficacy and other performance parameters needed for a successful product. Projects are invited in four areas including:

• LED package architecture
• Novel LED luminaire systems
• Large-area OLEDs
• OLEDs panel outcoupling.

Full details of the funding announcement can be found on the DOE website, and the submission deadline for applications is November 3, 2011.

In addition, under the core technology opportunity, the cost share requirement is waived for projects in which the prime recipient is a federal research center or national laboratory.

In the 7th round of funding, the DOE awarded $4.3 million to core technology research, $3.6 million to product development and $6.9 million to manufacturing projects for a total of $14.8 million.