DOE announces selection of national laboratory center for SSL R&D and seven projects for core technology research in nanotechnology

The objective of this Laboratory Call is to select an entity to provide technical administrative support for competitively selected solid-state lighting (SSL) research projects in nanotechnology.

The Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, jointly operated by Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory, has been selected as the National Laboratory Center for SSL R&D. The National Laboratory Center is a virtual, multi-lab center which incorporates multiple R&D projects from any of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs). Learn more about the DOE NSRCs.

The purpose of the National Laboratory Center is stimulate and enable the rapid transition of fundamental nanoscience discoveries into energy-efficient SSL technologies, augmenting DOE core technology research. The National Laboratory Center will provide a technical interlink between the NSRCs and the DOE SSL program.

Seven Projects Selected for Core Technology Research in Nanotechnology
The Department has also announced the selection of seven projects in response to Laboratory Call DE-PS26-06NT42942. The objective of this Laboratory Call is to support research to gain more comprehensive understanding of nanometer scale phenomena for specific application to DOE core technology research. The seven selections are anticipated to significantly contribute to the goal of the SSL program:

By 2025, develop advanced solid-state lighting technologies that, compared to conventional lighting technologies, are much more energy efficient, longer lasting, and cost competitive by targeting a product system efficiency of 50 percent with lighting that accurately reproduces sunlight spectrum.

The selections are listed below (subject to negotiation):

Recipient: Sandia National Laboratories
Title: Development of White LEDs using Nanophosphor InP Blends
Summary: This project proposes to develop blends of oxide nanophosphors and semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) in encapsulants to produce high conversion efficiency white-emitting blends with a variety of correlated color temperatures and good color rendering index. The ultimate goal of this research is to produce white LEDs containing nanophosphor-QD blends that are superior to LEDs made with QDs or traditional phosphors alone.

Recipient: Sandia National Laboratories
Title: Investigation of Surface Plasmon Mediated Emission from InGaN LEDs using Nano-patterned Metal Films
Summary: This project proposes to develop a high efficiency LED structure taking advantage of surface plasmons. Surface plasmons are electromagnetic waves at the interface between a metal and dielectric (semiconductor) which have been shown to improve light emission by as much as 90 times in specialized, optically pumped LED structures. This project aims to develop electrically injected devices which benefit from the plasmon effect.

Recipient: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Title: Low-Cost Nano-engineered Transparent Electrodes for Highly Efficient OLED Lighting
Summary: This project addresses two challenges crucial to improving the efficiency of organic LEDs: enhanced internal quantum efficiency via control over the singlet/triplet ratio, and enhanced carrier transport through poorly conducting organic materials by using carbon nano-tubes as low-cost transparent electrodes.

Recipient: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Title: Hybrid Nanoparticle/Organic Semiconductors for Efficient Solid-State Lighting
Summary: The objective of this project is to establish a new class of high efficiency, low-voltage, stable hybrid OLEDs for general illumination. This new class of hybrid OLEDs will be fabricated from organic/inorganic nanoparticle composite semiconductors.

Recipient: Sandia National Laboratories
Title: Nanostructural Engineering of Nitride Nucleation Layers for GaN Substrate Dislocation Reduction
Summary: This project proposes to develop MOCVD growth methods to further reduce GaN dislocation densities on sapphire which inhibit device efficiencies. This study will first firmly establish the correlation between the nuclei density and dislocation density. Following this, methods to reduce the nuclei density - while still maintaining the ability to fully coalesce the GaN films - will be investigated.

Recipient: Sandia National Laboratories
Title: Nanowire Templated Lateral Epitaxial Growth of Low Dislocation Density GaN
Summary: This project proposes to develop decreased defect density GaN substrates enabling higher efficiency LED devices. This goal is to be accomplished by developing growth techniques for GaN nanowires which are then induced to grow laterally and coalesce into a high quality planar film.

Recipient: Argonne National Laboratory
Title: Low Cost Transparent Conducting Nanoparticle Networks for OLED Electrodes
Summary: Development of transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) is critical for OLED device efficiency. This project proposes an innovative transparent conducting layer consisting of a self assembled network of conducting particles whose nanometer dimensions and large open area ratios make them much more transparent for a given electrical conductivity than conventional TCOs.