IEC TS 62972:2016

General lighting - Organic light emitting diode (OLED) products and related equipment - Terms and definitions

IEC TS 62972:2016 establishes terms and definitions specific for general lighting OLED light sources and related equipment.

Éclairage général - Produits à diodes électroluminescentes organiques (OLED) et équipements associés - Termes et définitions

L'IEC TS 62972:2016 établit les termes et les définitions spécifiques aux sources lumineuses à OLED et aux équipements associés pour l'éclairage général.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 20-Jul-2016
• ICS: 29.140.99 - Other standards related to lamps
• Technical Committee: SC 34A - Electric light sources
• Drafting Committee: MT 2 - TC 34/MT 2
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 21-Jul-2016
• Completion Date: 31-Aug-2016

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC TS 62972 ®
Edition 1.0 2016-07
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
SPECIFICATION
TECHNIQUE
General lighting – Organic light emitting diode (OLED) products and related
equipment – Terms and definitions

Éclairage général – Produits à diodes électroluminescentes organiques (OLED)
et équipements associés – Termes et définitions
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IEC TS 62972 ®
Edition 1.0 2016-07
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
SPECIFICATION
TECHNIQUE
General lighting – Organic light emitting diode (OLED) products and related

equipment – Terms and definitions

Éclairage général – Produits à diodes électroluminescentes organiques (OLED)

et équipements associés – Termes et définitions

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
INTERNATIONALE
ICS 29.140.99 ISBN 978-2-8322-3468-6

– 2 – IEC TS 62972:2016 © IEC 2016
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope . 5
2 Classification of terms . 5
3 Fundamental terms . 5
4 Terms related to physical properties . 7
5 Terms related to constructive elements . 9
6 Terms related to performance and specifications . 12
Bibliography . 14

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
GENERAL LIGHTING – ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (OLED)
PRODUCTS AND RELATED EQUIPMENT – TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

FOREWORD
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• the subject is still under technical development or where, for any other reason, there is the
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Technical specifications are subject to review within three years of publication to decide
whether they can be transformed into International Standards.
IEC TS 62972, which is a Technical Specification, has been prepared by subcommittee 34A:
Lamps, of IEC technical committee 34: Lamps and related equipment.

– 4 – IEC TS 62972:2016 © IEC 2016
The text of this Technical Specification is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
34A/1874/DTS 34A/1896/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical specification can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• transformed into an International standard,
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
GENERAL LIGHTING – ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (OLED)
PRODUCTS AND RELATED EQUIPMENT – TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

1 Scope
This Technical Specification establishes terms and definitions specific for general lighting
OLED light sources and related equipment.
2 Classification of terms
Terms specific for general lighting OLED light sources and related equipment are classified as
follows:
a) fundamental terms;
b) terms related to physical properties;
c) terms related to constructive elements;
d) terms related to performance and specifications.
NOTE This classification is in line with IEC 62341-1-2:2014. However, the classification of terms related to the
production process was removed.
3 Fundamental terms
3.1
organic light emitting diode
OLED
light emitting diode consisting of an electroluminescent zone made of organic compounds
which are situated between two electrodes
Note 1 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
3.2
polymeric organic light emitting diode
PLED
OLED where all the organic semiconductor materials are polymers
Note 1 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
3.3
small molecule organic light emitting diode
SMOLED
OLED where all the organic semiconductor materials are small molecules
Note 1 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
3.4
stacked OLED
OLED consisting of two or more emission layers and at least one charge generation layer
between two emission layers
Note 1 to entry: There can be emission layers inside a stacked OLED that are not separated by a charge
generation layer. However, at least one pair of emission layers is separated by a charge generation layer.

– 6 – IEC TS 62972:2016 © IEC 2016
3.5
bottom emission OLED
OLED which emits light through the substrate side
3.6
top emission OLED
OLED which emits light through the encapsulation side
3.7
transparent OLED
OLED in which the light-emitting area is transparent in the off-state
3.8
inverted OLED
OLED where the substrate carries the cathode
3.9
hybrid organic light emitting diode
hybrid OLED
OLED that uses a hybrid OLED stack
3.10
bendable OLED
OLED designed for being bent into a permanent shape
3.11
flexible OLED
OLED designed for being repeatedly bent
3.12
OLED tile
smallest functional OLED light source which cannot be separated into smaller OLED lighting
elements and containing at least one contact ledge with at least one positive and one
negative pole for connection to the electrical power supply
3.13
OLED panel
independently operable unit OLED product containing one or more OLED tiles and means of
connection to electrical supply such as a connector, PCB (printed circuit board), passive
electronic components and optionally a frame
3.14
OLED module
assembly of one or more OLED panels and active electronic components
3.15
OLED lamp
OLED panel or OLED module with a cap
3.16
OLED light source
OLED tile, OLED panel, OLED module or OLED lamp

4 Terms related to physical properties
4.1
light output area
A
LO
area of an OLED tile, panel or module designed to emit light, including active luminous areas,
busbars and other mechanical structures, but excluding edges
Note 1 to entry: The light output area is expressed in m .
4.2
active luminous area
A
act
area of an OLED tile, panel or module designed to emit light and including inner non-luminous
areas due to defects, but excluding layout defined busbars and other mechanical structures
Note 1 to entry: The active luminous area is expressed in m .
4.3
aperture ratio
F
quotient of active luminous area and light output area
A
act
F =
A
LO
Note 1 to entry: The aperture ratio is a quantity of dimension one.
4.4
luminous current efficacy
r
luminance divided by the applied current per unit area
Note 1 to entry: This term is sometimes incorrectly called "luminous current efficiency".
Note 2 to entry: The luminous current efficacy is expressed in cd/m .
4.5
emission ratio
luminous flux emitted by the side with the higher luminous flux divided by the luminous flux
emitted by the side with the lower luminous flux
Note 1 to entry: This term is only used with transparent OLED panels.
Note 2 to entry: The emission ratio is a quantity of dimension one.
4.6
internal quantum efficiency
η
IQE
ratio of the number of photons generated inside an OLED to the number of electrons injected
into the OLED
Note 1 to entry: An internal quantum efficiency greater than 100 % is possible if charge carriers are generated
inside the OLED.
4.7
external quantum efficiency
η
EQE
quantity describing the yield of outcoupled photons with regard to injected charge carriers
(electrons)
– 8 – IEC TS 62972:2016 © IEC 2016
Note 1 to entry: The external quantum efficiency can be expressed as

η =η ∗η
EQE IQE out
where η is the outcoupling efficiency. η contains optical loss modes such as surface plasmon polaritons or
out out
waveguided modes.
Note 2 to entry: The external quantum efficiency is expressed in %.
4.8
outcoupling efficiency
η
out
quotient of the external quantum efficiency and the internal quantum efficiency
η
EQE
η =
out
η
IQE
4.9
forward direction
F
direction of electrical current that results when the HIL/HTL side of the OLED stack (p-type
region) connected to an electrode is on positive potential relative to the EIL/ETL side (n-type
region) connected to the other electrode
Note 1 to entry: The forward direction is denoted by adding the subscript F to the symbol of the quantity
concerned, for example forward current is denoted as I .
F
4.10
reverse direction
R
direction of electrical current when the HIL/HTL side of the OLED stack is connected to an
electrical contact which is on negative potential with regards to the connection of the EIL/ETL
side
Note 1 to entry: The reverse direction is denoted by adding the subscript R to the symbol of the quantity
concerned, for example reverse current is denoted as I .
R
4.11
forward current
I
F
electrical current in forward direction
Note 1 to entry: The forward current is expressed in A.
4.12
forward voltage
U
F
potential difference pertaining to the forward direction, dependent on the forward current at a
given temperature
Note 1 to entry: The forward voltage is expressed in V.
[SOURCE: IEC 62504:2014, 3.13, modified — Note 2 to entry has been deleted.]
4.13
reverse current
I
R
electrical current in reverse direction
Note 1 to entry: The reverse current is expressed in A.

4.14
reverse voltage
U
R
potential difference pertaining to the reverse direction dependent on the reverse current
Note 1 to entry: The reverse voltage is expressed in V.
4.15
uniformity
physical magnitude of change present in a spatial luminance or chromaticity distribution
Note 1 to entry: This definition does not take perception into account.
4.16
homogeneity
perceived magnitude of change present in a spatial luminance or chromaticity distribution
5 Terms related to constructive elements
5.1
fluorescent emitter
emitter where only the singlet state excitons can show radiative decay and photon emission
Note 1 to entry: A fluorescent emitter is a type of emitter material. According to spin statistics in quantum
chemistry, excitons formed by an electron and a hole can have two different spin multiplicities, i.e. 1 (singlet state)
or 3 (triplet state). Simply spoken, 25 % of the states are singlets and 75 % are triplets. In a fluorescent emitter
only the singlet state excitons can show radiative decay and photon emission. The theoretical maximum of the
internal quantum efficiency is 25 %.
5.2
phosphorescent emitter
emitter where singlet and triplet state excitons can show radiative decay and photon emission
Note 1 to entry: A phosphorescent emitter is a type of emitter material. According to spin statistics in quantum
chemistry, excitons formed by an electron and an electron hole can have two different spin multiplicities, i. e. 1
(singlet state) or 3 (triplet state). Simply spoken, 25 % of the states are singlets and 75 % are triplets. In a
phosphorescent emitter singlet and triplet state excitons can show radiative decay and photon emission.
5.3
hybrid OLED stack
OLED stack that uses more than one kind of material and/or processing method
Note 1 to entry: A hybrid OLED stack can be as follows, for example:
a) an OLED stack which contains fluorescent and phosphorescent emitters,
b) an OLED stack which contains polymer and small molecule layers,
c) an OLED stack which combines solution-processed and evaporated organic layers.
[SOURCE: IEC 62341-1-2:2014, 2.2.16, modified — The terms "hybrid organic light emitting
diode" and /"hybrid OLED" were replaced with "hybrid OLED stack". The definition was
modified to fit the term. List entry c) was added to the note.]
5.4
substrate
material to carry the OLED stack
Note 1 to entry: Most common is the use of glass, metal foils or polymer foils.
5.5
OLED stack
core element of an OLED to generate light, consisting of a multi-layer structure with
significant lateral dimensions where each layer has a special functionality, the two

– 10 – IEC TS 62972:2016 © IEC 2016
sandwiching layers at top and bottom being electrodes for connection to a power supply and
at least one of these electrodes being transparent to enable light extraction
5.6
anode
electrode from where holes are injected into the organic layers
5.7
cathode
electrode from where electrons are injected into the organic layers
5.8
hole injection layer
HIL
layer adjacent to the anode and designed to improve the hole injection
Note 1 to entry: The HIL is part of the OLED stack.
Note 2 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.9
electron injection layer
EIL
layer adjacent to the cathode and designed to improve the electron injection
Note 1 to entry: The EIL is part of the OLED stack.
Note 2 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.10
hole transport layer
HTL
layer inside the OLED stack with a relatively high mobility of holes and used to adjust the
charge carrier balance in the OLED stack
Note 1 to entry: The special case of an electrically doped HTL for further conductivity increase is called p-HTL.
Note 2 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.11
hole blocking layer
HBL
layer inside the OLED stack with a relatively low mobility of holes or difference of highest
occupied molecular orbital level and used to adjust the charge carrier balance in the stack
Note 1 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.12
electron transport layer
ETL
layer inside the OLED stack with a relatively high mobility of electrons and used to adjust the
charge carrier balance in the stack
Note 1 to entry: The special case of an electrically doped ETL for further conductivity increase is called n-ETL.
Note 2 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.13
electron blocking layer
EBL
layer inside the OLED stack with a relatively low mobility of electrons and used to adjust the
charge carrier balance in the OLED stack

Note 1 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.14
emissive layer
EML
layer of an OLED stack designed for exciton formation and photon generation
Note 1 to entry: The EML can consist of several materials.
Note 2 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.15
charge generation layer
CGL
layer in a stacked OLED between two single OLED structures generating electrons for one
adjacent OLED unit (acting as a cathode) and holes for another adjacent OLED unit (acting as
an anode)
Note 1 to entry: The CGL is not directly connected to an electrical power supply. It enables the serial connection
of two or more OLED structures which are placed on top of each other.
Note 2 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.16
interlayer
ITL
layer which separates other functional layers
Note 1 to entry: Two examples are interlayers to separate the fluorescent from the phosphorescent emission zone
and interlayers to separate emission layers and injection layers.
Note 2 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.17
matrix
material in the EML which acts as host for emitter materials
5.18
emitter
material in the EML which acts as phosphor, typically used as dopant in a
matrix
5.19
encapsulation
enclosing structure to protect the organic layers and the electrodes from undesired
substances, such as water and oxygen
5.20
thin film encapsulation
TFE
encapsulation by one or more thin layers directly coating the OLED
Note 1 to entry: This note applies to the French language only.
5.21
optical outcoupling structures
optical structures to enhance the light extraction from the OLED
[SOURCE: IEC 62341-1-2:2014, 2.4.33, modified — The phrase "to the air" has been
deleted.]
– 12 – IEC TS 62972:2016 © IEC 2016
5.22
external outcoupling structures
optical structures which are located on the outer substrate surface to enhance the light
extraction
5.23
internal outcoupling structures
optical structures which are located between the OLED stack and the substrate to bring more
light into the substrate which finally leads to a higher amount of photons extracted
5.24
busbar
by design non-luminous, grid-like or other patterned structure within the area of OLED
segments used for the improvement of the current density distribution on transparent
electrodes
5.25
OLED cell
small part of the light output surface of an OLED tile whose boundaries are defined by busbar
structures and which cannot be independently controlled
5.26
contact ledge
exposed area of an OLED tile designed for electrical connection to one or
more electrodes
5.27
getter
material used inside an OLED tile to absorb undesired substances that enter the
OLED tile in spite of the encapsulation
5.28
glass encapsulation
encapsulation by glass attached to the substrate
5.29
active luminous surface
surface of an OLED tile, panel or module which is intended to emit light,
including inner non-luminous areas due to defects, but excluding layout defined busbars,
edges and other mechanical structures
5.30
light output surface
surface of an OLED tile, panel or module which emits light, including active
luminous surface, busbars and any other mechanical structure but excluding the edges
6 Terms related to performance and specifications
6.1
ageing
preconditioning of the OLED light source before initial values are taken
[SOURCE: IEC 62504:2014, 3.1, modified — The definition has been amended with
references to OLED.]
6.2
bright spot
small area remarkably brighter than the surrounding light output area of the OLED panel
6.3
dark spot
small area remarkably darker than the surrounding light output area of the OLED panel
Note 1 to entry: A dark spot can
...