SSLS EFRC Research Activities

Introduction

The vision of the Solid-State Lighting Science Energy Frontier Research Center (SSLS EFRC) is to help build the scientific foundation to produce the most light for the least energy throughout the world, through ultra-efficient solid-state lighting. Although solid-state lighting is still young, specific materials architectures – exploiting certain light-emission phenomena – have already been widely adopted. However, many aspects of these materials and light-emission phenomena are poorly understood and SSL performance is currently limited by several serious technology challenges.

To enable solid-state lighting in the long-term to overcome these technology challenges, the SSLS EFRC has two overarching objectives:

• First, to build a scientific understanding of materials architectures and light-emission phenomena used in the current solid-state lighting state-of-the-art, but that limit in some way its ultimate energy efficiency; and
• Second, to explore new materials architectures and light-emission phenomena that, although not used in the current solid-state lighting state-of-the-art, have the potential for game-changing improvements in energy efficiency.

The particular materials architectures and light-emission phenomena we target are embodied in our six SSLS EFRC major research activities, which we refer to as “Research Challenges.”

• Research Challenge 1: Nanowires
• Research Challenge 2: Quantum Dots and Phosphors
• Research Challenge 3: Competing Radiative and Non-Radiative Processes
• Research Challenge 4: Defect-Carrier Interactions
• Research Challenge 5: Enhanced Spontaneous Emission
• Research Challenge 6: Beyond Spontaneous Emission