Why the quantum dot is the hottest TV tech going
[Philip Lelyveld comment: the full article contains an excellent explanation of how quantum dots work.]
Known alternately as QDots or nanocrystals, quantum dots are the foundation behind what is expected to be one of the biggest sea changes in the television market over the next few years.
At the moment, there are several different approaches to integrating quantum dots into displays. One, used by companies like LG, Samsung, and 3M, is to spread the dots on thin film, which is then added to the stack of films beneath a display. The other is a thin tube coated with quantum dots that’s used in edge-lit LCD backlit configurations, Gagnan explained.
Gagnan said the tube approach — which is from QD Vision — is less expensive, because it uses fewer dots. But not every manufacturer is set up to use tubes. In both cases, however, an advantage over OLED is that existing manufacturing facilities can easily incorporate quantum dots.
In a standard LCD TV, a white light shines through a color filter, generating a picture by blending red, green, and blue lights and projecting them onto pixels. That approach, however, has its limitations. “Today’s TVs use LEDs to provide the ‘white backlight,” according to Digital Trends, “but here’s the problem with this setup: LEDs suck at producing white light.”
The technology is meant to amp up the power of the white light generated by LEDs. “When you illuminate them with a blue LED, they emit full-spectrum light,” Gagnan said.
“Since the size of a quantum dot can now be precisely controlled,” wrote Digital Trends, “the resulting light they put out can be dialed in just as precisely.”
See the full story, with videos, here: http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/08/why-the-quantum-dot-is-the-hottest-tv-tech-going/