Abstract
Plant factories have attracted increasing attention because they can produce fresh fruits and vegetables free from pesticides in all weather. However, the emission spectra from current light sources significantly mismatch the spectra absorbed by plants. We demonstrate a concept of using multiple broad-band as well as narrow-band solid-state lighting technologies to design plant-growth light sources. Take an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), for example; the resulting light source shows an 84% resemblance with the photosynthetic action spectrum as a twin-peak blue dye and a diffused mono-peak red dye are employed. This OLED can also show a greater than 90% resemblance as an additional deeper red emitter is added. For a typical LED, the resemblance can be improved to 91% if two additional blue and red LEDs are incorporated. The approach may facilitate either an ideal use of the energy applied for plant growth and/or the design of better light sources for growing different plants.
Highlights
Plant factories have attracted increasing attention for being capable of producing fresh fruits and vegetables free from pests and pesticides in all weather in most locations, including ocean vessels and space stations [1,2,3,4]
We demonstrate a design concept by using multiple broad-band as well as narrow-band solid-state lighting technologies to design plant growth light sources
The device structure was composed of a 125 nm indium tin oxide anode layer (ITO), a 35 nm poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene)-poly-(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) hole injection layer, a 45 nm photosynthetic action spectrum mimicking emissive layer, a 32 nm
Summary
Plant factories have attracted increasing attention for being capable of producing fresh fruits and vegetables free from pests and pesticides in all weather in most locations, including ocean vessels and space stations [1,2,3,4]. Few emission spectra from current light sources, including high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps, incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes, and light-emitting diodes (LED), closely match the photosynthetic action spectrum. The resemblance is only 38% between the emission spectrum of a high pressure sodium lamp with the PAS, while it is 50%, 60%, and 58% for an incandescent bulb, a fluorescent tube, and a plant factory light-emitting diode (Table S1), respectively. The resultant OLED device shows to be an ideal light source for plant growth, as confirmed via the theoretical calculations It is because organic electro-luminescent materials can emit any color throughout the entire visible region, and their spectra are broad and diffused, where the electro-luminescence is defined as an optical and electrical phenomenon in which an organic material emits light in response to the passage of an electric current or to a strong electric field. Plant growth light sources with different absorption colors can be synthesized with the employment of a low number of OLED emitters
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
