Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology, together with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Holst Centre from Netherlands, have announced a wearable OLED bracelet demonstrator.
Since 2016 the partners collaborate in the European joint project PI-SCALE working on the introduction of a joint pilot line in order to give access for the manufacturing of flexible OLED for SMEs in Europe.
Through this project the partners have produced a novel OLED wristband. This bracelet is representing one of the first wearable products with flexible organic electronics from the European pilot line.
The partners all contributed in different ways to the design, manufacture and integration of the demonstrator.
- Fraunhofer FEP was responsible for the anode deposition on barrier web
- Holst Centre for the OLED-deposition using evaporation processes
- VTT integrated the ready-made OLED into a bracelet and developed the compact power supply for the whole system.
According to the project partners the successful integration of the flexible OLED components into 3D injection moulded structures was challenging.
The result of these joint efforts is a lightweight flexible OLED bracelet. It can be worn as fashion jewellery and generate light for several days due largely to the low power consumption of the OLED.
Equipped with red or yellow OLED the wristband could act as security device for people working at outside at night or in dark environments.
The OLED could also be fabricated to emit specific wavelengths - which may not be in the visible spectrum. Such a bracelet could help for wound healing on the wearers arms or legs.
Using an infrared OLED it is possible image is imagine using the positive effect of the warm OLED light to as a therapy for the treatment of depression.
The partners of the Pi-Scale consortium are still available for interested partners and customers after the project time of Pi-Scale. Under the name of LYTEUS the activities of the pilot line service and the realisation of concrete products will be pushed further on in future.
"We used injection molded structural electronics for the integration of the OLED. To meet the demands of a wearable device, the conception and realization of a compact power supply system was necessary. In the end we realized a combination of flexible electronics and flexible OLED within our plastic molded bracelet uncomplicated thanks to the positive joint work of the partners."
Markus Tuomikoski, VTT
"We are proud about the ability to produce first ready-made products like the wristband together with our partners now. The applied OLEDs have been produced in sheet-to-sheet process at Fraunhofer FEP and Holst Centre. The way gone so far within PI-SCALE shows that we are in a position now to offer stable OLEDs from the open access pilot line with our joint know-how and according to the customers needs."
Claudia Keibler-Willner, Head of department S2S Organic Technology at Fraunhofer FEP