ATHENS, GA – The University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc. and the University of Puerto Rico have granted an international, nonexclusive license for a portfolio of glow-in-the-dark pigments that can be designed to emit light in any color of the visible spectrum for nearly a day. Performance Indicator LLC, of Lowell, MA, has acquired the license.

 

Phosphorescence is a process in which energy absorbed by a substance is released relatively slowly in the form of light. Some materials release energy over long periods of time and are known as long-persistence phosphors. But scientists have puzzled over how to produce long-persistent phosphors that glow blue, green and red or other long-wavelength colors, or even white.

 

By exploiting the phenomenon of energy transfer, the new technology can produce long-lasting glow in any color, including blue, green or red, and in tints and hues, such as pink, without extensive modification to the composition of the materials.

 

The seven phosphors included in this patent portfolio are simple to manufacture and environmentally safe. They do not contain sulfur, radioactive materials or lead. They can be used in a multitude of consumer and industrial applications.

 

The license allows Performance Indicator LLC to adapt, patent and market color-change or indicator technologies for a variety of industrial and consumer applications, and to import, manufacture and sell the phosphors. Also licensed under the same agreement are methods to customize the wavelength of emitted light, white-emitting phosphors, methods to render hues and tints to emitted light, and methods to blend such phosphors with other materials, such as polymers and resins.

 

Performance Indicator has pioneered development of a photoluminescent technology that provides vibrancy and persistence, as well as a palette of colors that can be formulated into a variety of fluids, coatings or printing applications. In addition, the company has also discovered how to shift the emission of the base phosphors, through chemistry, into the infrared spectrum, expanding the uses of this technology platform into applications for covert military use and for commercial anti-counterfeiting/authentication indicators.