Are quantum dots finally ready for the prime time?

Under this report, the company proposes a deep review of the industry, especially the impact of the quantum dots development on the display and traditional phosphors industry. Are the quantum dots a real competitor of OLEDs technology?

After the lukewarm reception of 3D and 4K, the display industry needs a new and disruptive experience improvement to bring consumers back to the store. Image quality perception increases significantly when colour gamut and dynamic contrast ratio are improved. Leading movie studios, content providers, distributors and display makers gathered and formed the UHD Alliance to promote those features.

“OLED was believed to be the technology of choice for this next generation of displays. But production challenges have delayed the availability of affordable OLED TVs. LCD TVs with LED backlights based on quantum dot downconverters can deliver performance close to, or even better than, OLED in some respects and at a lower cost," commented Dr Eric Virey, Senior Analyst, LEDs, Yole Développement.

Quantum dots virtuous adoption cycle

Until OLEDs are ready, QD-LCDs have a unique window of opportunity to try to close enough of the performance gap that the majority of the consumers won’t perceive the difference between the two technologies and price would become the driving factor in the purchasing decision. Under this scenario, QD-LCD could establish itself as the dominant technology while OLED would be cornered into the high end of the market. OLED potentially offers more opportunities for differentiation but proponents need to invest massively and still have to resolve manufacturing yield issues. For tier-2 LCD panel makers who can’t invest in OLED, QDs offer an opportunity to boost LCD performance without additional capital expenditure on their fabs. At the 2015 CES, several leading TV OEMs including Samsung and LG showed QD-LCD TVs.

With tunable and narrowband emissions, QDs offer unique design flexibility. But more is needed to enable massive adoption, including the development of further improved Cd-free compositions. Traditional phosphors haven’t said their last word... If PFS could further improve in terms of stability and decay time, and a narrow-band green composition was to emerge, traditional phosphors could also be part of the battle against OLED.

Phosphors & Quantum Dots 2015: LED Downconverters for Lighting & Displays presents an overview of the quantum dot LED market for display and lighting applications including quantum dot manufacturing, benefits and drawbacks, quantum dot LCD versus OLED and detailed market forecasts.