In their booth on the floor of the Society for Information Display’s Display Week at the Los Angeles Convention Center yesterday, some of the folks at quantum-dot-maker Nanosys seemed almost giddy. Samsung’s 2017 QLED TV sets, which use Nanosys-licensed QD technology, are a significant critical success, and the company’s Hyperion QD technology, which was featured in the booth, is in TV sets from Hisense, TCL and others that should be on the market early next year at prices that should perhaps half that of Samsung’s 2017 QLED sets.
According to Jeff Yurek, the Hyperion system offers the performance of cadmium-based dots with cadmium levels that are so low they qualify under the RoHS regulations without an exemption. A demonstration set with a Hisense badge on it drew admiring comments.
But even before the viewing public has had a chance to digest the current generation of QD-enhanced TV sets, Nanosys and its customers are poised to make another step forward. That step is to replace the matrix color filter of current TV sets with an RG-clear patterned quantum-dot screen. That will approximately double luminous efficiency and bring QD pixels to the surface of the screen, giving an LCD the look of a self-luminous display.
Two developments were required to make this approach work. First, it was necessary to be able to coat each QD so that it was passivated against moisture and air. This allows the dots to be ink-jetted or otherwise patterned to make the RG-clear screen, and this has now been done.
The second requirement was place the QD filter replacement over the front polarizer, which for practical purposes means the polarizer must be placed inside the LCD sandwhich. This is a significant departure from current LCD processing.
I spoke with CEO Jason Hartlove, who did not join his colleagues in exuding even a hint of giddiness. With his gunfighter eyes, Hartlove instead exudes toughness and self-control. Hartlove said Nanosys customers tell him they are on track for introducing TV sets with the previously described “opto-emissive technology” in 2018. Sets were showed privately at CES 2017, he said, and should be shown publicly at CES 2018, and quite possibly before.
Customers say, according to Harlove, that the internal polarizer fabrication and assembly processes are proceeding on schedule. Since the opto-emissive system puts the “QD sources” on the surface, the appearance and viewing angle are very much like an OLED’s, but much brighter.
As we concluded the interview, Hartlove thought for a moment and said that perhaps one TV maker would sneak an opto-emissive TV set announcement in at the very end of 2017. – KW
Ken Werner is Principal of Nutmeg Consultants, specializing in the display industry, manufacturing, technology, and applications, including mobile devices and television. He consults for attorneys, investment analysts, and companies re-positioning themselves within the display industry or using displays in their products. He is the 2017 recipient of the Society for Information Display’s Lewis and Beatrice Winner Award. You can reach him at [email protected].
