Osram approaches market maturity for OLEDs in cars

Osram unveils product strategy towards serial production

In another step to innovate the future of automotive lighting, Osram takes the opportunity ahead of the Frankfurt International Motor Show to unveil its product roadmap for organic LEDs (OLEDs) used in automotive applications. “We have essentially achieved road suitability for our OLEDs this year and will be offering initial special equipment based on OLEDs next year. In 2016 at the latest, we expect to see OLEDs used in series production of new vehicles,” says Ulrich Eisele, responsible for the OLED sector at Osram. The Motor Show is being held from September 12 to September 22.

Osram was able to demonstrate initial research successes with organic Light-emitting diodes last year. Temperature stability, the most significant obstacle to series production, was increased at the critical point of 85 degrees Celsius to a record level of several hundred hours. “After a further year of research, the remaining obstacles regarding serial production are small,” says Eisele. OLEDs are surface light sources and therefore perfect for the use in applications such as rear light fixtures. Transparent OLEDs also offer new design possibilities for those applications.

Osram unveiled a demonstrator at the electronica trade fair in 2012 and will present its successor this year that meets the requirements for road traffic not only in matters of tail lights but also in brake light applications. These are defined internationally in the standards of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE). It is also possible to divide the homogenous light area into dynamically controllable segments, thereby creating a distinct lighting scenario, for example by clicking on the door lock remote control. The OLED rear light fixture can also be seen as part of the tenth “International Symposium on Automotive Lighting” (ISAL) in Darmstadt (Germany) at the end of September.