Quantum Materials Corp (QMC) of the US said that its cadmium-free quantum dots have surpassed a 1000-hour continuous durability test in a remote LED application. The testing has been conducted with red and green quantum dots encapsulated in resin and mounted to blue emitting LED’s (see diagram below), which are similar to the type of LED’s used in standard LCD display back light units (BLU).
The successful implementation of quantum dots with LED’s has been slow to progress primarily due to the challenge of achieving the requisite reliability and durability to survive the heat generation inside the LED package without suffering thermal quenching and rapid performance deterioration, QMC said. The QD-LEDs were under continuous power at 2.5 Volts DC at 70mA and were measured initially, incrementally and at the 1000 hour mark with no measurable degradation of intensity, peak emission or FWHM. The QD-LED packaged units will continue to be under power and measurements of key performance criteria taken through and beyond the 3000 hour test protocol.
Quantum Materials Corp President and CEO Stephen Squires said,
“passing the 1000 hour continuous on time milestone is a major achievement in proving our quantum dot and encapsulation technologies. They are the basis for the next generation of quantum dot solutions to improve the color rendering capability of flat panel displays — which is moving QD’s from the front of the LCD panel to the actual surface of LED’s. Our team’s ability to keep Quantum Materials on the forefront of nanomaterial implementation and discovery is true testament to their diligence and tireless efforts. While we expect QD-infused film to be the preferred display solution for the next several years, the high heat durability and stability of our QD materials puts us in a strong position to enable the industry to make this transition to QD-LED on-chip solutions when that time comes.”
The materials were produced using the firm’s proprietary continuous flow production process which is said to enable “seamless” scale-up to high volume production.
Analyst Comment
A few days ago, QMC said that it ias achieved 99.5% quantum yield efficiency for the company’s pure red 630nm cadmium-free QDS. The firm said that it is concentrating on the development of QSs for use in electrically stimulated QD applications, where the displays are like OLEDs, but with QD materials, as we recently discussed. (Apple Applies for Patent with New Display Structure). The appeal of using QDs in this kind of application is that it can produce very good colour gamuts, because of the purity of the colours compared to phosphors, but it’s easier to control the blue alone rather than using individual RGB LEDs. (BR)
