Supercharging LED technology
with chirality

RADIANT produces efficient, affordable and sustainable chiral LEDs

RADIANT (Chiral Light Emitting Diodes based in Photonic Architectures) is a research project funded under the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Pathfinder Challenges 2023 programme. We aim to produce high-performing, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly chiral LEDs with a broad spectral range, from the visible to the near-infrared. 

LEDs: Huge market potential, increasing sustainability concerns 

Need for innovations to reduce the carbon footprint of LEDs

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are energy-efficient light-source technologies used widely in diverse applications, such as lighting, digital displays, and optical communications. Given the continuously increasing consumption of energy and the dominance of LEDs for illumination, their market is expected to grow to more than 193 billion dollars by 2030. 

However, LED production currently depends on critical raw materials like Arsenic (As), Gallium (Ga), and Germanium (Ge). Our project RADIANT aims to produce LEDs more sustainably by enhancing the properties of alternative LED technologies through novel nanoimprinting that implements chirality. 

Chirality:
A cost-effective solution to improve LED performance

RADIANT applies chirality to three LED technologies

Chirality refers to an object not being superimposable on its mirror image. Chirality is widely used in different scientific fields, from designing advanced materials to enhanced drug development, as it can profoundly impact materials’ optical, electronic, and mechanical properties. 
 
In RADIANT, we aim to integrate chirality into three alternative LED technologies, which are more affordable and modifiable than current options: organig light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs), and quantum dot LEDs (QdotsLEDs).

Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

OLEDs

Perovskite LEDs

PeLEDs

Quantum Dot LEDs

QdotsLEDs

To produce chiral light, we use chiral nanophotonic metasurfaces. These are nanostructured materials that can alter light propagation via optical resonances. 

While these types of photonic nanostructures tend to be expensive and difficult to scale up, in RADIANT, we develop them using affordable, sustainable, and scalable soft nanoimprinting lithography. 

The RADIANT approach:
New generation of chiral LEDs 

Enhanced optical properties, less burden on the environment 

The spectral range of chiral LEDs is very broad, ranging from the visible to the near-infrared invisible to the human eye. This opens possibilities for using chiral LEDs in various fields, including display technology, medical imaging, remote sensing, and optical communications.  

With our approach, we intend to revolutionise the lighting and illumination industry by improving LEDs’ efficiency and providing exceptionally bright output, while simultaneously reducing production costs and curbing their environmental impact. 

Discover our consortium

The multidisciplinary RADIANT team holds expertise in photonics, chemistry, device fabrication, technology transfer, and science communication.

Meet our partners

Discover our consortium

The multidisciplinary RADIANT team holds expertise in photonics, chemistry, device fabrication, technology transfer, and science communication.

Meet our partners

This Project has received funding from the European Union Horizon Europe Research and Innovation program under grant agreement Nº 101162112

Follow us!