Tag Archives: Quantum Dot Enhancement Film(TM)

50% more color on your liquid crystal display (LCD)

3M is promising more color on your liquid crystal display (LCD) as a consequence of its new deal with Nanosys Inc. From the June 5, 2012 news item on Nanowerk,

Nanosys Inc. and the Optical Systems Division of 3M Company are joining technologies to provide wide color gamut technology for consumer electronic displays, allowing Liquid Crystal Displays (“LCDs”) to display 50 percent more color.

3M and Nanosys will work together to commercialize Nanosys’ Quantum Dot Enhancement Film(TM) (“QDEF”) technology. QDEF is a drop-in film that LCD manufacturers can integrate with existing production processes. It utilizes the light emitting properties of quantum dots to create an ideal backlight for LCDs — one of the most critical factors in the color and efficiency performance of LCDs.

“Combining the world class-technology and materials expertise of Nanosys with the engineering, design and supply chain capabilities of 3M will unlock a powerful new color viewing experience for consumers,” said Jim Bauman, Vice President of the Optical Systems Division at 3M.

Over the years, 3M technologies have enabled better LCD performance. However, color performance of LCD’s has gone largely unchanged. Current LCDs are limited to displaying 35 percent or less of the visible color spectrum. This means the viewing experience on an LCD is vastly different than what a person sees in the real world. Wide color gamut displays will allow consumers to enjoy more visceral, more immersive and truer to life color.

I was going to post this a few days ago but, luckily, I held back. Dexter Johnson in his June 7, 2012 posting on the Nanoclast blog on the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) website offers an interesting perspective on this deal based on his 2010 interview with Nanosys Inc.’s then Vice President of World Wide Sales and Marketing, Victor Hsia who explained,

Current LED backlights use conventional white LEDs (which are BLUE LEDs with YAG phosphor) that cannot produce saturated GREEN or RED colors. In contrast Nanosys’ Quantum Rail produces a pure white light by using a BLUE LED with Green and Red Quantum Dot phosphors, which results in a tuned white light source that enables over 100 percent NTSC color gamut using the same high volume LCD display manufacturing flow that exists today.”

I’m finding the percentages a little confusing. In 2010, Nanosys could offer over 100% more color for conventional LCD displays. In 2012 and presumably in 2010, the consumer viewing experience offers 35% or less of the color spectrum.

The deal with 3M assures consumers  50% more color than the current 35% we can see.  Doesn’t that mean we’d get 52% of the color spectrum with this 3M/Nanosys deal? Please let me know if I got the numbers wrong or made some mistaken assumptions. In the meantime, I suggest taking a look at Dexter’s post for more technical information about the Nanosys technology and more background about LCDs.