The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published the 2015 edition of the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) R&D Plan. A consolidation of DOE's SSL Multi-Year Program Plan and SSL Manufacturing R&D Roadmap of previous years, the new R&D Plan was developed in conjunction with community experts through inputs received at roundtable meetings held in October 2014 and at the DOE SSL R&D Workshop, held in January 2015 in San Francisco. The discussions covered R&D needs for LED and OLED technologies, ranging from core technology research and product development, through manufacturing and applied technology R&D.
Widely referenced by industry and government both here and abroad, the R&D Plan reflects the consensus view of the community on key barriers, technology challenges to address, and where R&D efforts are required over the next three to five years. It provides analysis and direction for ongoing R&D activities to advance SSL technology and increase energy savings, reviewing SSL technology status and trends for both LEDs and OLEDs and offering an overview of the current DOE SSL R&D project portfolio.
While the entire R&D Plan was updated with the latest figures, some revisions were more extensive. Among the more noteworthy changes were deeper dives into source efficacy, light utilization, and improved performance and design, as well as the addition of sections on cost of ownership, sustainability, and new functionality such as spectral control and tuning, improved controls, integration with building automation, and visible light communication.