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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports solid-state lighting (SSL) research and development (R&D) to accelerate market introduction of high efficiency, high-performance SSL products. DOE leadership and support drive the lighting industry to higher levels of efficiency and quality than they might otherwise achieve. (Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader)

DOE and its SSL partners have developed a multi-year R&D plan (PDF 3.4 MB) to ensure that DOE is funding the appropriate R&D topics to successfully move SSL from lab to market. The R&D roadmap is updated annually with input from industry partners and workshop attendees, and guides the development of annual SSL R&D solicitations. Learn more about the 2009 MYPP update process, including details about the annual workshop breakout sessions and the September 2008 R&D Roundtable report.

DOE's plan for SSL R&D features two concurrent, interactive pathways. Core technology research is conducted primarily by academia, national laboratories, and research institutions. This research fills technology gaps to overcome technical barriers, and is subject to the Exceptional Circumstances Determination (PDF 5 KB) regarding intellectual property. Product development is conducted primarily by industry, and involves the use of research to develop or improve commercially viable materials, devices, or systems. For more detailed descriptions of the two R&D pathways, see Definitions of Core Technology Research and Product Development (PDF 17 KB).

2009 DOE SSL R&D Portfolio

The DOE SSL R&D Portfolio provides an overview of research projects funded by DOE. Each project profile in the portfolio includes a brief technical description as well as information about the project partners, funding, and time frame.

Download the complete 2009 project portfolio (PDF 1.0 MB) or view individual project descriptions from the 2008 portfolio, organized by technology.

Research Highlights

The Research Highlights section features major progress, breakthroughs, and world records that result from DOE-funded research projects.