In 2023 I wrote: NanoLED — a new type of display technology that uses direct imaging quantum dots to form the basis of the display. When using other competing species quantum dots to help the backlight produce color, in this case the dots are actually self-illuminating; them like that Screen. This technology, which is too new to have an official name yet, promises thinner, brighter and more colorful screens than are possible even today. quantum dot enhanced OLED.

Also known as QDEL (and ELQD and QD-LED), we’re still a few years away from seeing this technology in real products, but it’s interesting to see how quickly things are progressing. I saw an early prototype just 2 years ago it was only 6 inches. There are now 14-inch displays and monitors up to 18.2 inches that work on a laptop. That’s why it’s exciting.

Electro-what?

We have mentioned electroluminescent quantum dots several times. This Top Secret Prototype Reveal Will Blow Your Mind, What is NanoLED? Next Big Screen Technology AnnouncedAnd Quantum Dot-Powered TV of the Future Takes a Big Step Forward. Here’s why this technology is so interesting and could potentially be the next big thing in displays.

All screens, whether on your phone, laptop, or TV, need two basic things to create an image: light and a way to convert that light into something usable. These two aspects are different for all LCD-based TVs that are currently non-OLED, which make up the majority of the TV market. There’s a backlight that creates the light and then a liquid crystal layer that converts it into an image. In OLED displays, both are combined in a single device. Each pixel creates its own light and can be manipulated to create an image. Every technology we cover has pros and cons OLED, LED, MiniLED and LCD: Which is Best?.

Most mid- to high-end modern TVs quantum dots in this mixture. Quantum dots are microscopic particles that can convert one wavelength of light (one color) into another. For example, blue light turns into red or green. Because of their efficiency, quantum dot-based TVs could be cheaper to make, brighter and more colorful.

All quantum dots used in displays so far have been photoluminescent; for example, they used one color of light to shine a different color. For example, blue LEDs are used to create the TV’s blue light, and red and green light through quantum dots of different sizes. Electroluminescent quantum dots create light directly with electricity, eliminating the middleman, so to speak. QDEL displays potentially offer the image quality of OLED TVs, with less complexity than LED LCDs and theoretically lower manufacturing costs than either. The technology isn’t there yet, but several companies are working on the possibility, and many of them showcased their latest products at SID Display Week.

bigger and bigger

Understandably, most companies do not disclose their prototypes and research to the public. I was one of the first journalists to see the QDEL prototype in 2023 and at the time I couldn’t reveal who the manufacturer was (it was Sharp). I’ve been covering their more visible partner, Nanosys, for years. They are still one of the largest producers of quantum dots and I visited their factories last year (looks like a microbrewery). While Sharp wasn’t publicly announcing new developments at this year’s Imaging Week, behind the scenes was a 1.39-inch display with 326 ppi that has similar resolution to many phone displays. They also featured a 12.3-inch 167 ppi display, which is roughly the resolution of a laptop screen.

Laptops are the least surprising first use for QDEL displays, as there are high-end laptops with the latest technology and no “high-end” tablets that do the same thing (even Apple only puts one) OLED in a tablet this year). In this direction, TCL CSOTproduction arm of the producing company some of our favorite televisionsIt showed a 14-inch screen designed as a laptop screen. TCL says this is 2-3 years from production. The potential is for laptops that are even thinner, lighter, possibly with longer battery life and better image quality than current LCD screens.

Samsung showed off a huge (for technology) 18.2-inch monitor:

move forward

You can’t buy products with QDEL yet, but progress is continuing behind the scenes. Many of the biggest names in display manufacturing are investing a lot of R&D into this technology, and it’s easy to see why. All see the potential for displays that perform as well as or better than current technology, while also being easier and cheaper to produce. In many cases, it even draws on some experience and expertise with the quantum dot technology used in existing TVs.

We’ll eventually see phones and hopefully eventually “paper-thin” TVs and more. I wouldn’t be surprised to see larger models also publicly revealed at CES 2025 in the next few months. I can’t wait.

In addition to audio and video technology, Geoff does photo tours Great museums and places around the world including nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, medieval castlesepic 10,000 mile road trips and more.

Also check out Budget Travel for Beginnerstravel book and bestselling science fiction novel It’s about city-sized submarines. you can follow it instagram And YouTube.