The European Commission is funding a new research project to develop hybrid inorganic and organic lighting modules.
The modules are being specifically developed for the professional and architectural lighting sectors, as these have been early adopters of LED technology.
The LASSIE-FP7 (Large Area Solid State Intelligent Efficient luminaries) project aims to aid LED's capacity for full market penetration. It has been awarded €3.15 million of EC funding and is being co-ordinated by CSEM which is a private, non-profit Swiss company that focuses on sustainability and offers services such as research and consultation.
"Our goal is to develop innovative, large-area, low-cost, intelligent SSL modules with high efficiency and high lighting quality, while assessing their environmental footprint", said LASSIE-FP7 project coordinator Dr Rolando Ferrini from CSEM.
The project outcomes are twofold: the first is to develop a 600mm x 600mm module that manufacturers can mount on their own products. The second is that technology and best-practice developed during the three-year project lifetime is also passed on. This might be about the use of colour sensors or low-cost ways LEDs can be integrated into flexible foil or plastic sheets, for example.
"The development of new hybrid SSL modules, combining the extremely high efficiency and long lifetime of inorganic LEDs with innovative colour-changing coatings based on reliable and stable organic fluorescent dyes, will provide new devices that go beyond the current technological boundaries of SSL," said Dr Ferrini.
He said that although there are competitors on the market, the innovation in this project is the integration of the different elements and the use of the materials so that the modules can be mass-produced. "Currently these modules are too expensive or don’t fulfil the requirements of professional lighting designers," Dr Ferrini claimed.
The project will focus exclusively on modules rather than finished luminaires.