Brighter lights

US Department of Energy (DoE) aims to develop all aspects of solid state lighting (SSL). Three new DoE projects will focus on improving SSL manufacturing equipment, processes, or monitoring techniques. Cree, Inc. will develop an optimized LED fixture design for efficient manufacture that can be readily integrated into buildings; KLA Tencor, Inc. will seek to improve the colour consistency of LEDs by utilizing a measurement tool during manufacturing that reduces the variation in LED quality; k-Space Associates, Inc. will develop optical metrology for use during volume OLED manufacturing, the tool will measure layer thickness and composition to ultimately control the efficiency, colour, and lifetime of OLEDs. Total funding for the three projects is $7.1 million and leverages an additional $5 million in private-sector funding from the three companies.