Patents by Inventor Stephen R. Forrest

Stephen R. Forrest has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8922113
    Abstract: An OLED device includes an OLED structure having a curved shape and/or a concave surface. The OLED structure may function both as light source and as a reflector configured to concentrate light produced by the structure. An OLED may be formed in the shape of a reflector so that light is provided at the concave surface and so that light is reflected from the concave surface at the same location along the surface. The OLED structure can include a flexible substrate formed to shape, along with an organic layer and electrode layers coated over a substrate surface either before or after the substrate is formed. The OLED structure may also include a microcavity OLED, a grating layer, and/or one or more optical elements that alter the characteristics of the light emitted at an aperture of the structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: The Regents of The University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Michael Slootsky
  • Publication number: 20140370716
    Abstract: There is disclosed a method of preserving the integrity of a growth substrate in a epitaxial lift-off method, the method comprising providing a structure comprising a growth substrate, one or more protective layers, a sacrificial layer, and at least one epilayer, wherein the sacrificial layer and the one or more protective layers are positioned between the growth substrate and the at least one epilayer; releasing the at least one epilayer by etching the sacrificial layer with an etchant; and heat treating the growth substrate and/or at least one of the protective layers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2013
    Publication date: December 18, 2014
    Inventors: Kyusang Lee, Jeramy Zimmerman, Stephen R. Forrest
  • Patent number: 8912036
    Abstract: There is disclosed methods utilizing organic vapor phase deposition for growing bulk organic crystalline layers for organic photosensitive devices, heterojunctions and films made by such methods, and devices using such heterojunctions. There is also disclosed new methods for manufacturing heterojunctions and organic photosensitive devices, and the heterojunctions and devices manufactured thereby.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Richard R. Lunt
  • Publication number: 20140326972
    Abstract: An organic light emitting device including a) an anode; b) a cathode; and c) an emissive layer disposed between the anode and the cathode, the emissive layer comprising an organic host compound and a phosphorescent compound exhibiting a Stokes Shift overlap greater than 0.3 eV. The organic light emitting device may further include a hole transport layer disposed between the emissive layer and the anode; and an electron transport layer disposed between the emissive layer and the cathode. In some embodiments, the phosphorescent compound exhibits a phosphorescent lifetime of less than 10 ?s. In some embodiments, the concentration of the phosphorescent compound ranges from 0.5 wt. % to 10 wt. %.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2014
    Publication date: November 6, 2014
    Applicant: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Yifan Zhang
  • Publication number: 20140306199
    Abstract: A first device is provided. The first device includes an organic light emitting device, which further comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, and an organic emissive layer disposed between the first and second electrode. Preferably, the second electrode is more transparent than the first electrode. The organic emissive layer has a first portion shaped to form an indentation in the direction of the first electrode, and a second portion shaped to form a protrusion in the direction of the second electrode. The first device may include a plurality of organic light emitting devices. The indentation may have a shape that is formed from a partial sphere, a partial cylinder, a pyramid, or a pyramid with a mesa, among others. The protrusions may be formed between adjoining indentations or between an indentation and a surface parallel to the substrate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Publication date: October 16, 2014
    Applicant: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Michael Slootsky, Richard Lunt
  • Patent number: 8851597
    Abstract: An OVJP apparatus and method for applying organic vapor or other flowable material to a substrate using a printing head mechanism in which the print head spacing from the substrate is controllable using a cushion of air or other gas applied between the print head and substrate. The print head is mounted for translational movement towards and away from the substrate and is biased toward the substrate by springs or other means. A gas cushion feed assembly supplies a gas under pressure between the print head and substrate which opposes the biasing of the print head toward the substrate so as to form a space between the print head and substrate. By controlling the pressure of gas supplied, the print head separation from the substrate can be precisely controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventor: Stephen R. Forrest
  • Patent number: 8815411
    Abstract: Novel combination of materials and device architectures for organic light emitting devices is provided. An organic light emitting device, is provided, having an anode, a cathode, and an emissive layer disposed between the anode and the cathode. The emissive layer includes a host and a phosphorescent emissive dopant having a peak emissive wavelength less than 500 nm, and a radiative phosphorescent lifetime less than 1 microsecond. Preferably, the phosphorescent emissive dopant includes a ligand having a carbazole group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignees: The Regents of the University of Michigan, University of Southern California
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Mark Thompson, Noel Giebink
  • Patent number: 8816332
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to photosensitive optoelectronic devices including a compound blocking layer located between an acceptor material and a cathode, the compound blocking layer including: at least one electron conducting material, and at least one wide-gap electron conducting exciton blocking layer. For example, 3,4,9,10 perylenetetracarboxylic bisbenzimidazole (PTCBI) and 1,4,5,8-napthalene-tetracarboxylic-dianhydride (NTCDA) function as electron conducting and exciton blocking layers when interposed between the acceptor layer and cathode. Both materials serve as efficient electron conductors, leading to a fill factor as high as 0.70. By using an NTCDA/PTCBI compound blocking layer structure increased power conversion efficiency is achieved, compared to an analogous device using a conventional blocking layers shown to conduct electrons via damage-induced midgap states.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Brian E. Lassiter
  • Publication number: 20140226692
    Abstract: A first device is provided. The device includes an organic semiconductor laser. The organic semiconductor laser further includes an optical cavity and an organic layer disposed within the optical cavity. The organic layer includes: an organic host compound; an organic emitting compound capable of fluorescent emission; and an organic dopant compound. The organic dopant compound may also be referred to herein as a “triplet manager.” The triplet energy of the organic dopant compound is lower than or equal to the triplet energy of the organic host compound. The triplet energy of the organic dopant compound is lower than or equal to the triplet energy of the organic emitting compound. The singlet energy of the organic emitting compound is lower than or equal to the singlet energy of the organic host compound.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2014
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Applicant: The Regents of the Universtiy of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Yifan Zhang
  • Publication number: 20140116331
    Abstract: A solder joint may be used to attach components of an organic vapor jet printing device together with a fluid-tight seal that is capable of performance at high temperatures. The solder joint includes one or more metals that are deposited over opposing component surfaces, such as an inlet side of a nozzle plate and/or an outlet side of a mounting plate. The components are pressed together to form the solder joint. Two or more of the deposited metals may be capable of together forming a eutectic alloy, and the solder joint may be formed by heating the deposited metals to a temperature above the melting point of the eutectic alloy. A diffusion barrier layer and an adhesion layer may be included between the solder joint and each of the components.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2013
    Publication date: May 1, 2014
    Applicant: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Gregory McGraw
  • Publication number: 20140106062
    Abstract: A method for in-situ monitoring of gas-phase photoactive organic molecules in real time while depositing a film of the photoactive organic molecules on a substrate in a processing chamber for depositing the film includes irradiating the gas-phase photoactive organic molecules in the processing chamber with a radiation from a radiation source in-situ while depositing the film of the one or more organic materials and measuring the intensity of the resulting photoluminescence emission from the organic material. One or more processing parameters associated with the deposition process can be determined from the photoluminescence intensity data in real time providing useful feedback on the deposition process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2012
    Publication date: April 17, 2014
    Applicant: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Garen Vartanian, Cedric Rolin
  • Publication number: 20140102371
    Abstract: A first device is provided. The first device includes a print head, and a first gas source hermetically sealed to the print head. The print head further includes a first layer further comprising a plurality of apertures, each aperture having a smallest dimension of 0.5 to 500 microns. A second layer is bonded to the first layer. The second layer includes a first via in fluid communication with the first gas source and at least one of the apertures. The second layer is made of an insulating material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2013
    Publication date: April 17, 2014
    Applicant: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Gregory McGraw
  • Patent number: 8691178
    Abstract: A method of processing bundles of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Bundles of CNTs are put into a solution and unbundled using sonication and one or more surfactants that break apart and disperse at least some of the bundles into the solution such that it contains individual semiconducting CNTs, individual metallic CNTs, and remaining CNT bundles. The individual CNTs are separated from each other using agarose bead column separation using sodium dodecyl sulfate as a surfactant. Remaining CNT bundles are then separated out by performing density-gradient ultracentrifugation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: The Regents of The University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Jeramy D. Zimmerman
  • Publication number: 20140076403
    Abstract: The present disclosure generally relates to organic photosensitive optoelectronic devices comprising at least one boron dipyrrin compound. In addition, the present disclosure relates to methods of making organic photosensitive optoelectronic devices comprising at least one boron dipyrrin compound. The present disclosure also generally relates to chromophoric compounds that combine strong absorption of light at visible wavelengths with the ability to undergo symmetry-breaking intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), and their use for the generation of free carriers in organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) and electric-field-stabilized geminate polaron pairs. The present disclosure also relates to the synthesis of such compounds, methods of manufacture, and applications in photovoltaic systems and organic lasers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2013
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicants: University of Southern California, The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Mark E. Thompson, John J. Chen, Jonathan R. Sommer, Peter I. Djurovich, Kathryn R. Allen
  • Patent number: 8654806
    Abstract: A first device is provided. The device includes an organic semiconductor laser. The organic semiconductor laser further includes an optical cavity and an organic layer disposed within the optical cavity. The organic layer includes: an organic host compound; an organic emitting compound capable of fluorescent emission; and an organic dopant compound. The organic dopant compound may also be referred to herein as a “triplet manager.” The triplet energy of the organic dopant compound is lower than or equal to the triplet energy of the organic host compound. The triplet energy of the organic dopant compound is lower than or equal to the triplet energy of the organic emitting compound. The singlet energy of the organic emitting compound is lower than or equal to the singlet energy of the organic host compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Yifan Zhang
  • Patent number: 8637345
    Abstract: Methods of transferring a metal and/or organic layer from a patterned stamp, preferably a soft, elastomeric stamp, to a substrate are provided. The patterned metal or organic layer may be used for example, in a wide range of electronic devices. The present methods are particularly suitable for nanoscale patterning of organic electronic components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2014
    Assignee: The Trustees Of Princeton University
    Inventors: Changsoon Kim, Stephen R. Forrest
  • Patent number: 8633497
    Abstract: A first device is provided. The first device includes an organic light emitting device, which further comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, and an organic emissive layer disposed between the first and second electrode. Preferably, the second electrode is more transparent than the first electrode. The organic emissive layer has a first portion shaped to form an indentation in the direction of the first electrode, and a second portion shaped to form a protrusion in the direction of the second electrode. The first device may include a plurality of organic light emitting devices. The indentation may have a shape that is formed from a partial sphere, a partial cylinder, a pyramid, or a pyramid with a mesa, among others. The protrusions may be formed between adjoining indentations or between an indentation and a surface parallel to the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2014
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Michael Slootsky, Richard Lunt
  • Publication number: 20140008639
    Abstract: Organic light emitting devices are described wherein the emissive layer comprises a host material containing an emissive molecule, which molecule is adapted to luminesce when a voltage is applied across the heterostructure, and the emissive molecule is selected from the group of phosphorescent organometallic complexes, including cyclometallated platinum, iridium and osmium complexes. The organic light emitting devices optionally contain an exciton blocking layer. Furthermore, improved electroluminescent efficiency in organic light emitting devices is obtained with an emitter layer comprising organometallic complexes of transition metals of formula L2MX, wherein L and X are distinct bidentate ligands. Compounds of this formula can be synthesized more facilely than in previous approaches and synthetic options allow insertion of fluorescent molecules into a phosphorescent complex, ligands to fine tune the color of emission, and ligands to trap carriers.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2013
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Applicants: The University of Southern California, The Trustees of Princeton University
    Inventors: Mark E. Thompson, Peter Djurovich, Sergey Lamansky, Drew Murphy, Raymond Kwong, Feras Abdel-Razzaq, Stephen R. Forrest, Marc A. Baldo, Paul A. Burrows
  • Publication number: 20140000714
    Abstract: A method for fabricating an organic photovoltaic cell includes providing a first electrode; depositing a series of at least seven layers onto the first electrode, each layer consisting essentially of a different organic semiconductor material, the organic semiconductor material of at least an intermediate layer of the sequence being a photoconductive material; and depositing a second electrode onto the sequence of at least seven layers. One of the first electrode and the second electrode is an anode and the other is a cathode. The organic semiconductor materials of the series of at least seven layers are arranged to provide a sequence of decreasing lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs) and a sequence of decreasing highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs) across the series from the anode to the cathode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2013
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Applicants: The Regents of the University of Michigan, The Trustees of Princeton University
    Inventors: Barry Rand, Stephen R. Forrest, Diane Pendergrast Burk
  • Patent number: 8613496
    Abstract: A first device is provided. The first device includes a print head, and a first gas source hermetically sealed to the print head. The print head further includes a first layer further comprising a plurality of apertures, each aperture having a smallest dimension of 0.5 to 500 microns. A second layer is bonded to the first layer. The second layer includes a first via in fluid communication with the first gas source and at least one of the apertures. The second layer is made of an insulating material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2013
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Stephen R. Forrest, Gregory McGraw