Lately, a US academic has made a breakthrough on a flicker-free, shatterproof, alternative light source for large-scale lighting applications.

Dr David Carroll at Wake Forest University has utilized the technology based on Field-Induced Polymer Electroluminescent Technology (FIPEL) and emits a soft white light, to create the light source.
     
According to Dr Carroll, the light source is made from three layers of moldable, white-emitting polymer blended with nanomaterials that glow when stimulated to create bright, natural “white light similar to the sunlight human eyes prefer”.

Dr Carroll, a director of the university’s Centre for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, said: “This new lighting solution is at least twice as efficient as compact fluorescent bulbs and on par with LEDs.”

The light can be made in any colour and any shape – from 8 foot square sheets to replace office lighting to a light source to fit household lamps and light fixtures. The professor claims he has a FIPEL light source which has lasted for 10 years.

Dr Carroll is currently working with a company to manufacture the FIPEL technology and plans to have it ready for consumers as early as 2013.