QD production milestone could aid commercialisation of LED lighting

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 01 Apr 2011

Despite having the potential to improve and benefit an array of electronic devices including solid-state lighting, displays and solar cells, quantum dots (QDs) are challenging to produce in commercial quantities.

Now UK-based Nanoco has succeeded in producing a 1kg batch of red QDs, based on its proprietary cadmium-free materials and processing technology, for a large Japanese corporation serving the optoelectronics industry. Nanoco is also on track to produce a 1kg batch of green cadmium-free QDs by the second half of 2011, for the same partner.

Red and green QDs can be combined with LEDs so that these semiconductor devices can emit light in warmer tones, making them more favourable for a wider range of lighting applications.

Lighting

LED lights emit a cool blue-white light - suitable for applications such as car headlamps, but not what consumers seek in home lamps and bulbs.

QDs combined with LEDs for lighting can help the industry compete with OLED panel suppliers. While OLEDs are a less mature solid-state lighting technology, compared with LEDs, some developers are heavily marketing their ability to emit warm white light for applications in domestic, decorative and other types of lighting. QDs can be made in different sizes which can enable colour- tuneable LEDs to achieve different shades.

In late 2009 Nanoco set up a 1kg per batch reactor to grow stable, non-toxic QDs using its molecular seeding process and in future aims to scale up reactor equipment to achieve multiple batch quantities. Other commercial opportunities the company is pursuing include a nanomaterial solar film.

The company will be paid $2 million (€1.4 million) by the Japanese company for its red QD production breakthrough and a further $1 million for producing a batch of its green QDs.

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