Imagine your phone screen could be twice as bright without draining the battery any faster. That's essentially what this project tackled — they developed a new way to make OLED screens glow, especially in blue, which has always been the weakest color. The trick combines two types of light-emitting molecules that work together like a relay team, passing energy more efficiently. The team, led by Merck, built working mini-display prototypes to prove the concept works in real devices.
Blue OLED emitters remain the weakest link in display and lighting technology — they are less efficient and degrade faster than red and green, limiting overall display brightness and lifespan. This forces display manufacturers to over-engineer compensation circuits and accept shorter product lifetimes, driving up costs and limiting design options for next-generation AR/VR microdisplays and thin lighting panels.
The project built working hyperfluorescence OLED prototypes (2x2 mm² on 30x30mm glass substrates) combining new shielded fluorescence emitters with TADF host materials. These were integrated into a high-brightness microdisplay demonstrator based on a 0.38-inch WVGA CMOS backplane, documented across 13 deliverables.
If you are a display manufacturer struggling with blue OLED efficiency and lifetime — this project developed hyperfluorescence emitter materials combined with TADF hosts that achieve saturated blue emission at high brightness. They demonstrated this on a 0.38-inch WVGA CMOS backplane microdisplay, directly relevant to AR/VR and wearable display products.
If you are a lighting company looking for efficient white light sources beyond traditional LEDs — this project created blue and white OLED stack prototypes on 30x30mm glass substrates with low drive voltages. These materials could enable thinner, flexible lighting panels with better color quality for architectural and automotive interior lighting.
If you are a specialty chemical supplier serving the OLED supply chain — this project developed two new classes of materials: shielded fluorescence emitters and TADF molecular hosts. With Merck leading the consortium and 60% industry participation, these materials were designed from the start with manufacturability in mind, potentially expanding your product portfolio.
The project was coordinated by Merck, one of the world's largest OLED material suppliers, with 2 additional SMEs in the consortium. Licensing terms are not public, but given Merck's commercial OLED materials business, these results are likely being integrated into their product pipeline. Interested companies should contact the consortium partners directly.
The project specifically targeted manufacturability — the shielded emitter design enables simpler device structures with low drive voltages compatible with standard CMOS backplane electronics. With 3 industry partners out of 5 total, scale-up feasibility was a design priority from the start.
As an EU-funded RIA project with Merck as coordinator, IP ownership follows consortium agreement terms. Given Merck's dominant position in the OLED materials market, they likely hold key material patents. Prospective licensees should inquire through Merck's OLED materials division.
Standard OLED blue emitters suffer from low efficiency and short lifetime, which is the industry's biggest bottleneck. Hyperfluorescence combines TADF hosts with shielded emitters to achieve saturated blue at high brightness — a specific improvement over both pure fluorescent and phosphorescent approaches currently used in production.
The project produced working 2x2 mm² prototypes on 30x30mm glass substrates and a 0.38-inch WVGA microdisplay demonstrator. This confirms technical feasibility but is still at demonstrator stage. Based on available project data, further development would be needed for full production integration.
The team built multiple blue and white stack unit prototypes integrated into a high-brightness microdisplay demonstrator based on a 0.38-inch WVGA CMOS backplane. A dedicated deliverable documents the high-brightness microdisplay demonstrator prototyping results.
This is a strongly industry-led consortium with 3 out of 5 partners from industry (60% ratio), coordinated by Merck — a global leader in OLED materials and one of the few companies that actually manufactures and sells these materials commercially. The consortium spans 4 countries (Germany, France, Luxembourg, UK) and includes 2 SMEs alongside 1 university and 1 research organization. The presence of Merck as coordinator significantly increases the probability that results will reach the market, since they already have the production infrastructure and customer relationships in place. For a business looking to access these materials, Merck's involvement means there is a clear commercial pathway rather than results sitting in a university lab.
Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany) — reach out through their OLED Materials business unit or Performance Materials division
Want an introduction to the HyperOLED team or a detailed technology brief? Contact SciTransfer — we connect businesses with EU research teams.
