This NextGeneration Display Technology Is Going To Change The World

The quantum dot light prototype I saw was so cryptic that I had to interrupt. Jeffrey Morrison/CNET

I saw the future at CES 2023 and I wasn't even planning on going there. This show is work, even if I didn't have to go, I wouldn't want to. However, a few weeks before this year's CES, Nanosys, the company whose quantum dot technology is found in millions of TVs, offered to show me a top-secret prototype of its next-generation display. It's not just a next-gen display, but one I've been writing about for years that could dethrone OLED as the king of displays. I immediately booked a hotel.

What is so interesting that I see eight hours by car? Quantum dots that emit light. They are even more advanced than the quantum dots found in today's televisions. Eventually , they may replace LCD and OLED screens for phones and televisions . They have the potential to improve image quality, energy saving and production efficiency. The simpler structure theoretically makes these displays so easy to manufacture that they could find their way into the world of low-cost sci-fi displays for everything from glasses to windshields to windows.

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However, the prototype I saw at CES wasn't easy. In the Nanosys Suite at the Westgate Hotel, a short walk from the convention center, tables along the walls held several televisions and quantum dot monitors. And there, on the table farthest from the door, was the 6-inch prototype I wanted to see. A maze of wires connected it to multi-level circuit boards. It was incredibly smooth, like a piece of shiny paper. A gallery of colorful nature images scrolling across the screen, the de facto standard content for pre-production demos.

I felt like I was looking at something from the future because it was basically me. It's so advanced that Nanosys said I could only display a blurry image and no video. I'm told its as-yet-unknown manufacturing partner will be talking more about the technology in a few months, so hopefully we'll know more soon. In the meantime, I can say the following.

Yesterday and Today's CD

Two current methods for adding quantum dots to LED LCD displays. The main difference is that QDs can be added to the diffusion plate instead of its membrane layer. Nano

Come with me for a moment. Quantum dots are tiny particles that emit light of a specific wavelength with energy. Quantum dots of different sizes emit different wavelengths. In other words, some dots emit red light, some green and some blue. There are more options , but only RGB is needed for display technology. They are also incredibly efficient, emitting almost the same amount of energy absorbed.

In recent years, quantum dots have been used by TV manufacturers to increase the brightness and color of LCD TVs. The "Q" in QLED TV stands for "Quantum". Originally found only in high-end TVs, quantum dots can now be found in mid-range and low-end TVs from brands like Samsung, TCL, Hisense, LG and Vizio. They enable better colors , higher HDR brightness and more.

How quantum dots are added to QD OLED and Micro LED displays. In the first case, the entire panel consists mainly of blue OLED pixels, some of which are converted to red or green using QDs. In the latter case, the QDs are integrated into the micro-LED itself. Nano

© Provided by CNET. How quantum dots are added to QD OLED and MicroLED displays. In the first case, the entire panel consists mainly of blue OLED pixels, some of which are converted to red or green using QDs. In the latter case, the QDs are integrated into the micro-LED itself. Nano

Finally, Samsung has combined quantum dots with the exceptional contrast ratio of OLED . Their QD OLED TVs (and Sony's) offer the best quality of any TV.

Until now, quantum dots have always been about other game-changing technologies. A futuristic developer of key technology that increases the efficiency of that technology. QDs were not characters in themselves. This is no longer the case.

Samsung already sells OLED TVs with quantum dots.

Directly visible quantum dots

Quantum dots, previously used in display technology, are called "photoluminescence". They absorb light and then emit light. For LCD TVs, LED usually means LEDs that emit blue light. This blue light would be the blue light you would see on TV, but it was also used to make the red and green quantum dots emit their own colored light. So what you'll see on the screen is the blue light from the LED and the red and green light from the quantum dots combining to create an image. There are different ways to go about this process, but this is the basic idea.

Direct electroluminescent quantum dot display. You can think of an LED or OLED as a traditional LCD, but instead of LCD or OLED pixels, the pixels are made up of quantum dots. Note that there are far fewer layers, which in theory should lead to lower manufacturing costs and other benefits. Nano

© Provided by CNET Direct View , quantum dots that emit light. You can think of an LED or OLED as a traditional LCD, but instead of LCD or OLED pixels, the pixels are made up of quantum dots. Note that there are far fewer layers, which in theory should lead to lower manufacturing costs and other benefits. Nano

The prototype I saw was completely different. Not traditional LED and not OLED. Instead of using light to excite quantum dots through light emission, it uses electricity. Just quantum dots. Electroluminescent quantum dots, such a simple approach. That's wonderful.

Or at least has the potential to be terrible. In theory, this leads to thinner and more energy-efficient displays. This means screens that can be made lighter and cheaper. This could make larger screen TVs cheaper and more efficient. Potential image quality is at least as good as QD-OLED, if not better. The technology is scalable, from small, lightweight, high-gloss displays for next-generation VR headsets, to high-performance phone displays and powerful flat-screen TVs.

Nanosys calls its quantum dot technology that emits direct visible light "nanoLED," which I don't like. The TV market is full of "LED" stuff and I think it's a bit hard for the average person to understand the difference between "nano" and " micro " and " mini ". But hey, if I was good at marketing, I'd make a lot more.

The future of science fiction

The potential for TV and phone displays is exciting, but the potential for QD light emitters doesn't end there. With a simpler counter structure, you can integrate QD-based counters in a variety of situations. More precisely, on more surfaces. Basically, you can print an entire QD screen on a surface without the heat required by other "printable" technologies.

What does it mean? Almost any flat or curved surface can be a screen. This has long been the promise of many technologies, not to mention countless sci-fi shows and movies, but light-emitting QD technology has the potential to make it happen.

For example, you can mount a display on your car's windshield for a more sophisticated, high-resolution, high-visibility head-up display. Speed and navigation instructions are safe, but what about augmented reality with night signs and QD-Display road signs for safer driving? Or imagine a windshield that tells you where the other cars around you are without taking your eyes off the road. These types of QD screens can have up to 95% light transmission, meaning they look almost like normal glass when turned off.

AR glasses, such as the TCL version shown here with MicroLED technology, are a potential application for light-emitting quantum dots. James Martin/CNET

Ever since I got my glasses, I've dreamed of a built-in screen that would show me information like in a video game. AR glasses were one thing, but they're bulky, low-resolution, and frankly, lame. The QD display can be printed directly onto the lens, requiring less complex electronics in the mounts. They look like ordinary glasses, but show information about an incoming message, video call, map or movie. It's all very cyberpunk.

We put these 48-megapixel AR glasses from DigiLens to the test with our voice

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Almost any surface can work this way. I think the first obvious use, no matter how, would be on bus or subway windows. They were originally introduced by cities to tell people important information, but they are inevitably used for advertising. It's certainly not a knock on technology, but on how the world works.

Beyond the quantum field

A close-up of a pixel from a quantum dot color conversion film. Jeffrey Morrison/CNET

The history of CES is littered with advanced prototypes that never made it to market, relegated to history, and bald, bespectacled tech journalists. Nanosys has a strong history of working with some of the biggest names in the manufacturing world. They have been working on it for years. It was always on the edge of the schedule they shared every year. When I first met them a few years ago, the first quantum dot demos were about to be released. Now they are everywhere. A few years later, there was talk of adding QD to OLED. Now there are these too. QD alone, direct observation of QD electroluminescence, has always been their goal. And now it's here.

Well, something like that. It's a prototype. Nanosys also admits that direct-view quantum dot displays are still years away from mass production.

Two containers of photoluminescent quantum dots next to a blue electroluminescent QD emitter. Nanosys - Amanda Carpenter and Oleg Grachev

Early production costs will determine the size we see initially. Phones and VR headsets first, then TVs? It may be that TV factories are expensive to build and companies are reluctant to renovate or close old factories until they get a full return on their investment. So it's likely that we'll still have older quantum LCDs on store shelves alongside QD-OLEDs, along with direct-view QDs for the foreseeable future.

Beyond that, who knows? There will surely be new technologies that will be even better. But in 5-10 years we'll have QD display options on our phones, maybe in our living rooms and maybe even on our windshields and windows.

Yes, CES was definitely worth a visit.

In addition to television and other screen technologies, Jeff takes photo tours of museums and interesting places around the world, including nuclear submarines, giant aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000 mile road trips and more. Check out Tech Treks for all their tours and adventures.

He wrote the best-selling science fiction novel about city-sized submarines and its sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and YouTube.