It is reported that Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research has developed a prototype of single-layer OLED, indicating that the manufacturing cost may be slashed compared to stacked OLED.

The research and development team used an established technology called thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) with a life span of 2,000 hours, cutting brightness by 50%. 

Dr. Gert-Jan A. H. Wetzelaer, head of the team said that “we want to further improve the concept to achieve a longer service life, and apply this concept to industrial purposes.” 

A single layer can slash the cost of OLEDs, which usually have 5 to 7 layers. 

The team published their findings in the journal Nature Photonics.

OLED, an organic light-emitting diode, has the luminescence principle similar to that of LEDs, only that it adopts organic materials for light-emitting materials while LEDs use inorganic semiconductors as light-emitting materials.

Enthusiasts have always believed that OLED will fundamentally change the lighting structure due to the flexibility property. However, production costs are high. OLED also lags behind LED in terms of energy efficiency. LED manufacturers have improved designs to embed LED in thin panels to imitate the effect of OLED.