A New Innovative Research in Illumination Science: Candlelight-Style Organic Light-Emitting Diodes by Professor Jwo-Huei Jou

December 12 03:06 2018

Jwo-Huei Jou is a professor of the Department of Materials Science & Engineering in National Tsinghua University, Taiwan. He received his PhD in Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program from the University of Michigan in 1986.  Later, he worked as a visiting scientist at IBM Almaden Research Center before joining as an Associate Professor in 1988 and Full Professor in 1992. Prof. Jou’s research interest includes high-efficiency natural light-style organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), polymer, thin film stress, and expert system applications. He has been granted 90 patents, published 184 journal papers and has written 3 textbooks. He is a pioneer of the natural light-style OLEDs and has received a prestigious “IDA lighting design award” from the International Dark-Sky Association, USA for his “candle light-style OLED” invention. His candlelight OLED is also awarded “Lite-On award”, “Taiwan international invention and design fair award”, “3rd GCL cup international student green energy innovation and entrepreneurship competition award”, and highlighted in many competitions and exhibitions. Prof. Jou is trying to solve the blue-hazard problems associated with most of the current lighting sources and his goal is to introduce to the world blue-hazard free, human-friendly lighting products.

Intensive white light or light with strong blue emission significantly suppresses the secretion of melatonin (MLT), which disturbing human circadian including sleep-wake behavior, cellular function, gene expression, and jeopardizing human health. Circadian disruption by light-at-night distinctly accelerates the risk of various types of cancers, including breast-, colorectal-, and prostate cancers. 

Prof. Jou’s research paper, “Candle Light-Style Organic Light-Emitting Diodes” is a breakthrough study in the field of lighting technology.

Candles were invented a long time ago and are still used in today’s time. They have been often used to uplift the mood of an individual. They manage to create a romantic environment and hormones that cause a pleasant sensation may originate from the naturally occurring melatonin secretion, which helps people relax.

Prof Jou and his team realized that there is a need for a physiologically-friendly light at night which must possess a low colour temperature. In response to this Jou and his team developed a “candle light-style organic light emitting diode (OLED) which showed a colour temperature as low as 1,900 K, a colour rendering index (CRI) as high as 93 and an efficacy of at least two times that of incandescent bulbs”.

The team of scientists observed the notorious effect of blue light on melatonin suppression. Hence, the studies suggested a creation of a new light source that could be used at night. The light sources would show a low colour temperature and would be devoid of blue emission to safeguard human health.

This is how the low colour temperature candles were came into consideration of Prof. Jou and his team. They were known to be physiologically friendly. However, there were certain disadvantages viz., energy inefficiency, the potential fire hazard problems, their flickering nature and the problem of unpleasant smoke due to hydrocarbon burning.

Over the past decades, the increase in consumption in high-efficiency light emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) has been noticed. Jou and his team’s prime focus was to devise a lighting source which would simultaneously comprise of a low colour temperature, a high power efficiency, and a very high CRI, all of which could result in an illumination which could be both aesthetically pleasing and physiologically-friendly and be energy efficient at the same time.

Jou and his team took up this challenge and further decided to research on this subject. They have presented their findings in a detailed and easy manner in their research paper.

It was seen that the candle light-style OLED turned out to be reliable i.e., unaffected by wind, dimmable i.e., where it reduces the unpleasant glare and ‘invisible’ i.e., it can be moved away from a person’s vision when it is attached to a ceiling.

After putting in a great amount of hard work, Jou and his team put together a device, which had an 80% resemblance with the luminance spectrum to that of a candle. The most striking feature of this warm candle light-style emission was that it was driven by electricity. This replaced the candles, which were invented 5000 years ago.

Jou’s “candle light-style OLED” has brought about new hope and may prove to be a safe measure for illumination at night. Furthermore, Jou suggests that this may also provide its users with more options and encourage them to enjoy a brighter future.

Jou already commercialized his candlelight OLED with the collaboration of Wisechip, Taiwan. Now Jou is concentrating in the commercialization of his another innovative invention, “Sunlight-style organic light emitting diodes”.

Jou and his team’s innovative research has definitely opened new doors in the field of invention and young scientists can contribute to the same in many ways.

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