SNU-Samsung Electronics SAIT, Elucidate Next-Gen OLED Material Design Principles for Extending Deep-Blue OLED Lifetime
A research team led by Professor Jaesang Lee at Seoul National University (SNU) and the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) have identified key device design principles to extend the lifespan of ‘Deep-Blue OLEDs,’ a core technology for next-generation displays.
This study is significant as it quantitatively analyzes the causes of degradation in high-efficiency blue devices—which had been unclear until now—and implements devices with significantly improved lifespans based on these findings.
In the current OLED display market, green and red pixels already utilize high-efficiency phosphorescent (PH) emitters, but blue OLEDs remain stuck with low-efficiency 1st-generation fluorescent emitters. While high-efficiency blue materials and devices are being researched, they face difficulties meeting industrial requirements due to short lifespans.
High-efficiency Phosphorescent (PH) and Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF) emitters, considered as alternatives, suffer from the disadvantage of lower color purity due to broad emission spectra. Securing efficiency, stability, and color purity simultaneously in Deep-Blue OLEDs remains a long-standing challenge for the OLED industry.
The SNU-Samsung research team focused on Phosphor-Sensitized Fluorescence (PSF) technology as a promising alternative.
Structural diagram of the energy transfer path (FRET dominant) and RISC activation energy design principles, key to lifespan extension in PSF devices. (Source: Advanced Optical Materials)
To understand the complex exciton transfer processes within PSF devices, the team combined cryogenic (135K) analysis with modeling and identified two key factors affecting lifetime.
First, they confirmed that a higher ‘Reverse Intersystem Crossing (RISC)’ activation energy in the final MR-TADF emitter is advantageous for device lifetime. High activation energy inhibits the generation of high-energy excitons capable of breaking molecular bonds, thereby helping to increase device durability.
Second, they proved that designing devices so that ‘Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)’ dominates over ‘Dexter transfer’ in the energy transfer path extends lifetime. In an environment where FRET is dominant, the accumulation of unnecessary triplet excitons within the emitter is prevented, reducing degradation.
Applying these design principles, the research team achieved a T90 lifetime of 141 hours at a luminance of 1,000 nits (cd/m²) while maintaining deep-blue color coordinates (CIE_y < 0.15). This result is approximately 4-fold improvement compared to existing unoptimized comparison devices (35 hours).
This research is evaluated as a meaningful step toward the commercialization of Deep-Blue OLEDs, as it provides important clues to improve the lifetime problem of blue OLEDs—previously considered a material limitation—through the control of internal energy flow within the device.
The results of this study were published in the latest 2026 issue of ‘Advanced Optical Materials,’ a renowned journal in the materials and optics field (Adv. Optical Mater. 2026, e03267).
Future concept of vibrant, long-lasting next-gen Deep-Blue OLED displays enabled by the SNU-Samsung research breakthrough. (Created by Gemini)
Changho Noh, Senior Analyst at UBI Research (chnoh@ubiresearch.com)
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