November 6, 2006—The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) recently awarded $5 million for seven projects in solid-state lighting research in nanotechnology. The work will be done at four of DOE’s national laboratories.
Solid-state lighting creates light without producing heat, and has the potential to replace incandescent and fluorescent lamps and double the efficiency of general-purpose lighting, says EERE. Solid-state lighting includes a variety of light-producing semiconductor devices, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).
Three of the projects will focus on developing high-efficiency LEDs, which are found in all kinds of devices, including digital clocks, watches, and remote controls.
The other projects will focus on the development of highly efficient OLEDs, which are more commonly used commercially and can be found in small screens for mobile phones, portable digital music players, and digital cameras.
DOE also named Sandia as the home of the new National Laboratory Center for Solid-State Lighting Research and Development. DOE says Sandia will conduct vital solid-state lighting research and coordinate related research efforts at several other national laboratories.
For more information visit EERE’s Solid-State Lighting Web site.
