What Are Super Quantum Dots?
Super quantum dots could be the next big (OK, small) thing in TVs. At least, that’s what companies like TCL want you to believe. Although “classic” quantum dots have dramatically improved the performance of LCD and OLED TVs, many of our picks for best TV use them to create bright, vibrant images, for example. Will SQDs offer an improvement, or is it just an advertisement?
As with most areas of technology, the answer is a bit of both. Although the name “super quantum dots” is a bit hyperbolic, there are potential improvements in performance. Behind the scenes there are also some impressive advances, if you’re a nerd like me, in the manufacturing that allow them to exist. But first…
What is a quantum dot?
The size of the quantum dot determines the color it emits when energized. Currently, this energy is provided by blue LEDs or blue OLEDs.
A quick recap. Quantum dots are microscopic particles with a fascinating ability: they can transform one color of light into another color of light with almost perfect efficiency. Currently, the most common use for quantum dots is to convert blue light from a blue LED or OLED to red and green.
While this is how the majority of quantum dot-equipped TVs work today, in the future there will be versions of QDs that convert electricity directly into light (no LEDs required) and use ultraviolet light to create visible light.
Two vials of red and green quantum dots, illuminated by a blue/purple flashlight.
For more details, see How Quantum Dots Could Challenge OLED for Best TV Picture, QD-OLED TV: Samsung and Sony take on LG with a special Quantum Dot sauce And Putting the “Q” in QLEDs: where quantum dots are made.
To understand the next part, the main thing you need to know is that the size of the quantum dot determines the color it emits. The smallest quantum dots emit blue light, medium-sized quantum dots emit green, and the largest (but still microscopic) QDs emit red.
Super quantum dots
Advances in manufacturing have allowed quantum dot maker Nanosys to offer batched QDs that emit light at specific nanowavelengths. This type of precision allows TV manufacturers to better tune their color filters and the overall design of their TV to create the color gamut and overall performance they want. Although the color difference in this photo, compressed for the web, is not very obvious, in person you can make out subtle differences between the bottles. This was most noticeable between the vials with the largest difference (521nm vs. 537nm, for example), but looking at them for a moment, the differences between the closer vials also became noticeable.
Essentially, a super quantum dot is a refined version of existing quantum dots and requires a lot of specialized equipment. The QD manufacturing plant I saw it looks like a brewery and involves many steps to reach the required size. If the molecule is too big or too small, it may not work at all to convert light. Depending on the expected performance of the final product, slight variations in size may be acceptable. That is, as long as the QDs are about the same size, some may be a deeper red or a lighter red, for example, they will on average be “red” to the person watching TV.
However, this average may not be enough for TVs designed for higher performance. Super Quantum dots are designed to address this need to improve the efficiency of individual elements, with the aim of producing deeper, more realistic colors. The problem is that deeper colors don’t look as bright, and brightness is almost always the main concern for any TV manufacturer. The colors must therefore be quite pure and accurate: red is just red, green is just green, and so on. If not, energy is wasted creating colors that aren’t as bright or colorful as competing technology like mini RGB LEDs, for example.
TCL’s depiction of the super quantum dot design they use.
For example, let’s say you have green quantum dots that are also a bit yellowish; this “wasted” yellowish light could affect other colors, including the depth of red. Additionally, if some red QDs are a bit yellowish, this could limit how green the green is, while also limiting the performance of the red. With budget TVs, this isn’t a big deal because, as I mentioned earlier, the average is always “red” or “green.” However, to achieve this highest level of performance, you need the purest ingredients. The ingredients, in this case, are specific color reproduction.
Are they really “great”?
Will TVs that use super quantum dots be significantly better than TVs with boring old classical quantum dots or other technologies? Probably not. As with most television advancements these days, this is an incremental step. TCL builds on the name, combining “better” quantum dots with a new color filter design. They claim a 33% increase in color gamut, but we’ll have to see how that compares. in our laboratory. You can expect other manufacturers who use or manufacture quantum dots to move in the same direction. They may not call their technology “SQDs,” but every TV maker’s goal is to create brighter, more dynamic TVs, and higher-performance QDs are the next way for some of them to do that.
In addition to covering audio and display technology, Geoff takes photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000-mile road trips, and much more.
Also discover his books Budget travel for dummies and the best-selling science fiction novel on city-sized submarines. You can follow him on Instagram and YouTube.
