There are a diverse group of technologies that used for manufacturing displays, including liquid crystal displays ( LCD ), light emitting diodes ( LED ) and organic LED ( OLED ). Quantum dots (QDs) are a promising technology for displays as well, offering advantages to these other approaches.

According to Dr. Tony Sun, analyst at Lux Research, quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystals that are typically smaller than 10 nm.

“Compared with bulk materials, they have unique electrical and optical characteristics that can emit light of specific colors depending on the exact composition and size of the QD,” Dr. Sun added. “They were first discovered in the 1980s and stably fabricated in labs starting around mid-1990s. Since then, there has been a lot of research and development effort put into this area, trying to commercialize the technology.

“Eventually, QD-enhanced displays entered the market in 2013, with products like the tablet Kindle Fire HDX 7 and Sony’s Bravia TV,” Dr. Sun added. “As the technology matures, there is now a proliferation of QD-enabled TVs and monitors on the market.”

In Quantum Dot Display and Lighting Technologies and Market Forecast Report, Second Edition, Touch Display Research surveyed many quantum dot suppliers and found that the quantum dot display component market is gaining momentum. Touch Display Research forecasts that the quantum dot display and lighting component market will surpass $2 billion by 2016 and reach $10.6 billion by 2025.

“Quantum dot technology could improve liquid crystal display (LCD) dramatically in terms of color gamut, color accuracy and reducing power consumption. The number of companies working on quantum dot has increased to over 80 in 2016 from just 60 companies in 2015,” said Dr. Jennifer Colegrove, CEO and principal analyst at Touch Display Research Inc.

Jeff Yurek, corporate communications manager, Nanosys, said that Dr. Louis Brus discovered the first quantum dots in the early 1980s during his time at Bell.

“He and his team were excited by this new material’s ability to efficiently emit light with highly saturated colors but they weren’t yet sure what the end application might be,” Yurek added. “Potential applications for quantum dots seemed limitless from semiconductors to solar to biotech to anti-counterfeiting but, funny enough, display was not among the first ideas for the technology. That came later, in the mid-2000s.”

Dr. Paul Alivisatos, who worked closely with Dr. Brus in the early days of quantum dot research, would go on to help start Nanosys in 2001 as one of its scientific co-founders.

“At the time of Nanosys’ founding in 2001, the technology had improved significantly but it was not quite ready for prime time in commercial applications. By 2008, when current CEO Jason Hartlove joined the company, we began to focus-in on displays as the killer app for quantum dots.

“We tried a number of different approaches, including putting dots inside LEDs and putting them in a glass optic mounted next to LEDs but finally settling on a translucent plastic film we call ‘QDEF,’” Yurek said. “Our first QDEF product, the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, launched in 2013 to rave reviews.

“Fast-forward three years to today and quantum dots have become one of the hottest technologies in displays,” Yurek concluded. “Nanosys has more than 20 products in the market from top brands like Samsung, Sharp, Vizio, TCL, Hisense and ASUS. Well over a million devices with quantum dots shipped in 2015 ranging in size from 7 inches to 88 inches. Exciting work continues on developing the next generation of quantum dots as well.”

“QD Vision, founded in 2005 and an MIT spin-out, is one of the first companies to truly commercialize QDs by bringing innovative ‘green chemistry’ and mass production capabilities to the business,” said John Volkmann, CMO for QD Vision. “In 2013, QD Vision worked closely with Sony to bring the first quantum dot-based TV to market, selling millions of units and earning very positive response from reviewers and consumers worldwide. Since then, almost every major television manufacturer has launched QD-based televisions. Industry analysts forecast over 50% of the televisions and monitors in the world will be based on QDs by 2025.”

“The market for quantum dots is continuously growing in both market size and types of applications,” David Doderer, VP R&D, Quantum Materials Corp, said. “Major markets today are the display industry, which is rapidly converting from phosphor to quantum dot LCD and OLED HDTV 4K units, and the nascent quantum dot solid-state lighting (SSL) market, which will make use of QD-LED as they are developed commercially in the near future. Farther down the road but just as large of a market, if not bigger, will be the quantum dot solar cell (QDSC) market, and the use of quantum dots in the biotech field, for diagnostic assays, theranostics to treat cancer and other diseases, and superior molecular imaging.”

Commercialization of QD Products

So how large is the market for quantum dots? Dr. Sun said that TVs alone will be a multi-billion dollar business.

“We expect QDs-enabled LCDs will grow from about $500 million in 2015 to $5 billion in 2020, a CAGR of 60%, primarily from TVs,” Dr. Sun said. “This corresponds to a $500 million opportunity in five years for materials suppliers looking to supply QDs that go into these displays.”

While Volkmann said it is very early in the adoption cycle for quantum dot-based displays, QD Vision expects them to do very well in commercial applications because of their value proposition.

“QD-based TVs and monitors deliver twice the color gamut of today’s displays while using much less electrical power than any other wide color gamut technology and at a very compelling price,” Volkmann observed. “As an example, one of our largest customers, TPVision, is offering the world’s first quantum dot-based monitor at about one-third the price of competitive monitors using traditional phosphor-based WCG technology. The wide color gamut has advantages for applications well beyond entertainment and gaming, including medical diagnostics and e-commerce.”

“We’re off to a great start and, in fact, quantum dot TVs are already out-selling OLED TVs by a significant margin,” said Yurek. “There’s a lot of runway here for growth over the next few years.”

Squires said that quantum dot-enabled TVs are fast becoming mainstream

“Samsung is leading the charge with a huge emphasis on quantum materials as an enabling technology in its top-of-the-line TV products,” Squires reported. “At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016, quantum dot TVs were heralded as the very best in their category.

“Hisense (which purchased the Sharp TV brand) just announced 25 new TV models for 2016, with the high-end versions - including a 65” display – incorporating quantum dot technology to distinguish their product line,” Squires added. “LG, TCL-Alcatel and Sony have also launched quantum dot TVs in the past two years. TCL is on its third generation of quantum dot TVs and is also introducing them into their mid-tier product lines. Sharp’s curved 4K TV is quantum dot-based and was quite well received. Monitors from ASUS and Tablets from Amazon are other examples of quantum materials-based devices in the market. Based on market feedback, we expect to see an explosion of quantum dot-based TVs, monitors, tablets and other products in the market during the coming years.”

Printing Quantum Dots

Given the wide scale adoption of quantum dots in the display industry, Doderer said that the new concern is how to scale quantum dot production to meet display demand forecasts.

“Our ability to quickly scale production capabilities with more throughput and efficiency allows Quantum Materials to offer a reliable production program of a variety of uniform quantum dots, metal oxide and catalyst materials,” Doderer added. “This is exciting because it means the uses for quantum dots can expand in all directions and paths without limitations in production output.”

Squires said that the biggest area for advancement will be fulfilling the needs and demands of industry for the tonnage of quantum dots that will be needed for all the products companies want to manufacture.

“Inkjet printing has been implemented for printing QDs to fabricate OLED employing QDs,” said Squires. “It is called QLED.”

“I believe there are tremendous opportunities for printing in the quantum dot industry. Printing and coating are needed to make quantum dot film, and in the future, maybe quantum dot on chip, or quantum dot on color filter,” said Dr. Colegrove.

“In photoluminescent-mode, where QDs are downconverting blue light, they are integrated into displays in one of three ways: film, edge optic, and on-chip,” Volkmann said. “The QDs are integrated into various optical component packages (e.g. films, glass tubes, LED packages, etc.) prior to assembly into the backlight of an LCD. The QD film optical component is manufactured using roll-to-roll printing technology. In electroluminescent mode, where QDs are generating light from electrical current, solution processing methods like inkjet printing or slot die coating would be the likely candidates for deposition of the emissive QD layers directly onto the TFT backplane.”

“Today, quantum dot displays are built just like LED displays,” Yurek said. “The quantum dots are added to the backlight of the display in the form of a translucent plastic film that’s loaded with dots. Each TV contains literally trillions of quantum dots. The film itself is made using a roll-to-roll coating process. Nanosys manufactures quantum dots here in Silicon Valley and partners with companies like 3M to coat films. Looking ahead, I think there are definitely some interesting ways you can imagine quantum dots being printed to create flexible, emissive displays.”

Outlook for Quantum Dots

The projections for quantum dots are optimistic, and Dr. Sun said that the display market will continue to be the major driving force for QDs in the coming years.

“We expect the overall QD display market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60% by 2020,” Dr. Sun added. “The QD market for other applications like solar cells and lighting, however, will remain relatively small due to the slower development. For display application, the major trend will be further penetration into more high-end TVs as well as mid-to-low end TVs.”

“Around the same time we announced our ability to scale QD production process, we also announced QDX, our proprietary new class of quantum dots that solves the stability problem,” Squires added. “We can mass-produce an environmentally stable quantum dot, one that is resistant to heat, moisture, exposure and oxidation while still offering robust performance. We see this overcoming obstacles and filling the need for many high-heat production processes, and reducing the need for barrier layers in displays. Certain QDX compositions are also primed for solar photovoltaic where environmental conditions and hear are constant factors causing degradation, for example.”

Volkmann said that because of their uniquely precise and efficient downconverting characteristics, quantum dots have a bright future across any application involving light, as increasing volumes drive costs down.

“The early beachhead for this effect will be in displays like TVs and monitors, where we are directing our efforts today,” Volkmann added. “We expect rapid adoption of QDs in the large format display business (both TVs and monitors), paving the way for additional incremental innovations in packaging and commercialization. These will open up adjacent markets in more mainstream TVs and monitors and then to smaller form factor displays such as mobile PCs, tablets and smartphones. Eventually the technology and economics will be favorable to the much broader general lighting applications, at which time QDs will become pervasive.”

“The story for quantum dots is really just beginning,” Yurek said. “Today it’s all about improving LEDs to make our displays brighter and more colorful. Tomorrow, quantum dots may replace the LEDs themselves, enabling some really interesting new types of devices.”