Quantum dots a game changer in display technology

What if that green grass just pops out at you from LCD TV screen or the game you play on smartphone becomes so vibrant that you even miss your girlfriend's call? With the new quantum dot technology, this can happen.

The US engineers have developed a new technology called "3M quantum dot enhancement film" (QDEF) that efficiently makes liquid crystal display (LCD) display screens more richly coloured.

"This is because quantum dot or 'QD' displays need less energy compared to other high-colour options," said research specialist Eric Nelson from Minnesota-based 3M Company.

'QDs' are superconducting crystals so small that 10,000 could fit across the width of a human hair.

Rather than filtering light, QDs change it into a different colour.

Made by California-based Nanosys Inc, these dots produce specific colours of light based on how big they are.

In 3M QDEF displays, the LCD's white backlight is replaced with a blue one and a sheet of plastic embedded with QDs that produce red and green light is placed over it.

The display combines these three colours to produce all the colours the viewer sees.

"One drawback of the dots is that they break down quickly when exposed to water and oxygen in the air. To address this, we created the plastic sheathing that protects them," Nelson noted.

Researchers sandwiched the QDs between two polymer films with the QDs embedded in an epoxy glue.

Coatings on the film provide further protection and enhance the viewing experience, he added.

3M hopes the QDEF technology will compete well with more costly displays like those that use organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs).

The findings were scheduled to be shared at the 248th meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, this week.