710536Polar OLED: Production Rate Curing / Cross- Linking of solution based (printed) OLED Materials using UVClosedGRD Proof of ConceptInnovate UKThis project proves the concept of high production rate processes for the fabrication of solution processed OLEDs (or other organic electronics) using a patented UV curing process. Polar OLED has proven the benefits of UV cross-linkable materials for organic electronics, in particular for OLED. Once cross-linked they become insoluble, allowing additional layers to be deposited on top without contamination. This allows significant performance gains to be made, while the low-temperature process supports use on most flexible substrates. The combination of enabling multiple layers and a low temperature process will be invaluable as the nascent OLED and flexible display industries develop. While UV curing is used extensively in other industries, there is currently no adoption of it within the OLED industry. No process currently exists which could migrate these materials from the lab to the production (or even pre-production) environment. This lack of process existence proof is slowing the adoption of these materials. This project will prove the concepts of a high volume manufacturing process using UV curing. The project will address the application of multiple layers, encapsulation and benchmarking against conventional devices. While the development focus is on curing, a multi-disciplinary effort is required to optimise process and materials/inks together to deliver high manufacturing rates. This project proves the concepts of a production process capable of being scaled to highvolume manufacturing. The program includes development work on new inks, assessment of the options for UV curing (and iterating lessons learned back into the ink formulation efforts), and working with potential equipment suppliers and partners (including CPI, the Centre for Process Innovation, which will be the host for the project – placing the project at the heart of the UK’s Plastic Electronics industry.