News Releases

Sumitomo Chemical Concludes License Agreement with Universal Display for OLED Lighting Devices

Jan. 22, 2015

Sumitomo Chemical has concluded a technology license agreement with Universal Display Corporation of the United States (Universal Display), under which Universal Display grants Sumitomo Chemical non-exclusive licenses to manufacture and sell solution-processed organic light emitting diode (OLED) lighting products.

Sumitomo Chemical is developing its OLED lighting business by using polymer OLED technologies owned by Sumitomo Chemical and Cambridge Display Technology Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical in Britain. In the spring of 2014, Sumitomo Chemical exhibited its polymer OLED lighting at "Light + Building 2014," one of the world’s largest trade fairs for lighting and building technology held in Frankfurt, Germany. Sumitomo Chemical’s exhibit, named "OLED COSMOS," was formed by dual-color emission OLED lighting panels. Sumitomo Chemical is the first in the world* to have developed technology to mass-produce dual-color emission OLED lighting panels where a single panel can be printed in two distinct colors based on the Company's highly advanced printing method. Sumitomo Chemical is not only developing its OLED lighting business for decorative lighting such as "OLED COSMOS", but also aiming to expand the business for general lighting in the future.

Leveraging the licensed technology from Universal Display, Sumitomo Chemical will accelerate technology development to increase the luminous efficacy of its lighting devices as the Company expands its OLED lighting business.

  • Based on Sumitomo Chemical’s survey in February 2014.

Sumitomo Chemical polymer OLED website

About Universal Display Corporation

President & CEO Steven V. Abramson
Business OLED related technology development and licensing, manufacture and sale of OLED materials
Headquarters New Jersey, the United States
Established June 1994
Shareholder’s equity Approximately 440 million U.S. dollars (at the end of September 2014)

A joint press release was issued in New Jersey on January 21 at 4 p.m. local time.

Reference Material

Features of Sumitomo Chemical’s Polymer OLED Lighting Technology

  • Low-cost fabrication through an advanced printing process.
  • A variety of emission colors capable of being produced with a light-emitting layer formed by a single printing process.
  • Producing a wide range of lighting colors, from natural light that closely resembles sunlight, to vivid and neutral colors that are excellent in design.
  • Thin surface light source.
  • Easy-to-view light wavelength.
  • Mercury-free and environmentally-friendly.

About Electroluminescence and OLEDs

Electroluminescence is a phenomenon in which light is emitted in response to the passage of an electrical current through an organic material as a voltage is applied. Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are a technology that employs this phenomenon. An OLED that employs a polymer as a light emitting material is called a Polymer OLED.

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