In addition to increasing the performance of devices, OLED costs need to be simultaneously reduced. Manufacturing technology developments and infrastructure investments will be essential to enable price reductions and transition OLED products from the prototype stage to commercial viability. By improving the yield (panel-to-panel color, brightness consistency) and reliability (premature failure rate) through improved manufacturing processes, costs could be lowered considerably. Another possible route to decreasing production costs is the development of roll-to-roll manufacturing capabilities using printing deposition processes, which may allow for high materials usage efficiency and throughput. What’s more, roll-to-roll manufacturing is well-suited for processing on flexible substrates, and a key differentiating feature of OLEDs is their ability to operate as flexible or conformable devices.

Leveraging the flexibility and other distinctive qualities of OLEDs—e.g., thin, lightweight, large-area, diffuse light source—to create novel luminaires is another key challenge. The purpose of such luminaire concepts is to spur the adoption of OLEDs, promoting consumer interest and familiarity with the technology and generating revenue for continued R&D investment.

(Source of knowledge: The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, U.S.)