Nov 26 2007
Next-generation fabrication technology is being installed to establish a European center for producing small-molecule organic devices.
Fraunhofer IPMS is installing Europe's first pilot production system for manufacturing OLED lighting and organic solar cells. Three production lines will be built at its new Center for Organic Materials and Electronic Devices Dresden (COMEDD) at a cost of €25m.
The sizeable investment comes from Germany's state and federal government and the EU, with the system supplied by Sunic Systems of South Korea, in combination with Aixtron, Germany. Fraunhofer hopes that the new production plant will speed up the time-to-market for OLED lighting, organic solar cells and OLED-on-CMOS devices. They also hope to establish COMEDD as the leading European institution for R&D and pilot production of small-molecule organic devices.
"The OLED lighting and organic photovoltaic industries will only work if we manufacture here in Europe as well as carry out design and research," said Karl Leo, director of Fraunhofer IPMS. "The center wants to be the key partner for the European industry to develop fabrication-related processes up to a pilot fabrication level."
"The order of the system is a key milestone for our future activities," added Joerg Amelung, business unit manager at Fraunhofer IPMS. "It allows us to develop novel organic-based lighting solutions within a pilot production-scale surrounding."
The plant will produce useable substrate sizes of 370x470 mm2 on glass substrates and foils. The targeted tact time is three minutes, resulting in an annual capacity of approximately 13,000 m2. The system is designed for efficient materials usage and flexibility in substrate format and organic stack.
The fabrication system consists of clusters combining thermal evaporation and organic vapor phase deposition (OVPD) modules. This integrates next-generation fabrication technology into new market segments and is an important step to achieve future business market segments.