Quantum dots are finding their ways into LCD and OLED displays, and The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is now recognizing the importance of the discovery of the nanoparticles.

Stewart Brand, American writer, once wrote that "science is the only news" and to chemists quantum dots are old news, but for consumers they are finally starting to come into view.

Initially used as a supplemental technology to enhance LCD panels, and more recently in more integral form to create QD-OLED displays where blue light is converted into red and green light using quantum dots, the extremely tiny nanoparticles that measure just a few nanometres (millionth of a millimetre) hold the promise of further improving our display technology.

Quantum dots also have applications in LED lamps, solar panels, and in guiding surgeons during tumor tissue removal, among other uses.


 Quantum dots are used in QD-OLED TVs such as Sony's A95 series and Samsung's S95 series as well as in QD-OLED monitors. Photo: Samsung Display

Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 is awarded to three scientists for "the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties".

Physicists had long known that in theory size-dependent quantum effects could arise in nanoparticles, but at that time it was almost impossible to sculpt in nanodimensions. Therefore, few people believed that this knowledge would be put to practical use.

However, in the early 1980s, Alexei Ekimov succeeded in creating size-dependent quantum effects in coloured glass. The colour came from nanoparticles of copper chloride and Ekimov demonstrated that the particle size affected the colour of the glass via quantum effects.

A few years later, Louis Brus was the first scientist in the world to prove size-dependent quantum effects in particles floating freely in a fluid.

In 1993, Moungi Bawendi revolutionised the chemical production of quantum dots, resulting in almost perfect particles. This high quality was necessary for them to be utilised in applications.
Moungi G. Bawendi, born 1961 in Paris in France, Louis E. Brus, born 1943 in Cleveland in the USA, and Alexei I. Ekimov, born 1945 in the former USSR, will share the honor plus 11 million Swedish kronor equally.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is among the five original Nobel Prizes established by Alfred Nobel's will in 1895.


 Quantum dots can convert light energy into the desired color. Photo: Antipoff, CC BY-SA 3.0

The future of quantum dots
And quantum dots hold even greater promise, according to the industry and the academy.

- "Quantum dots are thus bringing the greatest benefit to humankind. Researchers believe that in the future they could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication – so we have just started exploring the potential of these tiny particles," said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The leading supplier of quantum dots for displays, Nanosys, was recently acquired by Shoei Chemical of Japan who announced plans to accelerate the development of a new EL-QD (NanoLED) display technology, as seen in the illustration below.


 How quantum dots are used in displays – and how they can be used in the future. Photo: Nanosys