Rubén D. Costa, who is leading the team of scientists, says, “The proteins have a photoluminescence quantum yield of more than 75 percent. High efficiency is guaranteed. In addition, they have a low emission bandwidth (30 to 50 nm), ensuring high color quality and degradation does not produce significant colour changes.”
The details of the second display component enhanced by the luminescent proteins, the color filter, are described in an paper published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. Using an SLA 3D printing technique, the luminescent proteins are stored in a “polymeric matrix with micrometric resolution,” which allows them to keep their luminescence and stability. The paper, “Micropatterned Down-Converting Coating for White Bio-Hybrid Light-Emitting Diodes“, explains that the scientific community has recently started to develop a new kind of LED, specifically white hybrid light-emitting diodes (WHLED). These look to be a solid solution for environmentally sustainable white lighting sources, because they are, among other things, nontoxic and low-cost.
The paper explains the process thoroughly, but the researchers were able to control the placement of these proteins using 3D printing, describing “a straightforward way to design microstructured single-layer coatings, in which the proteins are placed at our command by using 3D printing” as they turned to stereolithography to plot the proteins. Their packing fabrication process involves “the preparation of a gel before the formation of a rubber-like material,” so the proteins were precisely placed during “the plotting of the gels in different micropatterned forms, such as lines, open-grids, and closed-grids. They were further applied as single-layer down-converting coatings for preparing Bio-WHLEDs.”
Costa explains, “This colour filter meets the necessary requirement to improve displays currently being used in terms of contrast and brightness, within quality standards demanded across the market. This new material will allow for the development of energy-efficient Bio-displays for TVs and mobile telephones, with low production costs, high image quality and ecological sustainability. Also, these filters are not rigid, allowing them to be used in devices which are flexible and light.”
“Micropatterned Down-Converting Coating for White Bio-Hybrid Light-Emitting Diodes” is available here, and the paper’s authors include Lukas Niklaus, Samira Tansaz, Haider Dakhil, Katharina T. Weber, Marlene Pröschel, Martina Lang, Monika Kostrzewa, Pedro B. Coto, Rainer Detsch, Uwe Sonnewald, Andreas Wierschem, Aldo R. Boccaccini, and Rubén D. Costa. Discuss in the 3D Printed Screens forum at 3DPB.com.
[Sources/Images: Phys Org / Advanced Functional Materials]