Quantum Dot manufacturer Quantum Materials Corp (QMC) says it has achieved 99.5 percent quantum yield efficiency for the company’s pure red (630 nm emission peak) cadmium-free quantum dots. At this point QMC’s pure red (630nm) cadmium-free quantum dots are believed to offer the highest photon conversion efficiency in the industry – even when compared with quantum dots made with cadmium – by other quantum dot manufacturers.
QMC’s pure red Cd-free quantum dots were manufactured via the company’s proprietary continuous-flow manufacturing process, assuring high uniformity through the high-volume production process.
“Our primary focus is on driving cadmium-free quantum dots as a phosphor replacement in OLED displays, in concordance with Apple’s recent announcement regarding their integration of quantum dot and OLED technologies into QD-LED for future iPhone displays. Our materials are the foundation for accelerating development of QD-LED displays and making them a reality for mobile devices. QD-LED display form factors are more desirable for mobile devices and quantum dots as a phosphor replacement will radically improve colour performance and energy efficiency over current OLED technology,” said Toshi Ando, QMC VP of marketing.
UbiQD has signed an exclusive agreement with at Western Washington University’s Advanced Materials Science and Engineering Center and the University of Washington to license luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) technology. Unlike typical heavy opaque solar panels, this technology is partially transparent and lightweight, enabling windows or other surfaces, such as building facades, to become solar collectors. “We envision a world where sunlight harvesting is ubiquitous, a future where our cities are powered by quantum dot-tinted glass on skyscrapers,” said Hunter McDaniel, founder and CEO of UbiQD. “UbiQD is making tremendous progress already in translating quantum dots and LSC tech into viable products and a scalable business model.”
APPLE PATENTS QD OLED TECH
Apple have patented a QLED OLED hybrid display for potential use in flexible screens, “Quantum Dot LED and OLED Integration for High Efficiency Displays.” Apple’s invention covers display systems and hybrid pixel arrangements. In an embodiment, OLED and QD-LED stacks are integrated into the same pixel with multiple common layers shared by the OLED and QD-LED stacks. Read more at http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220170221969%22.
The European Commission will prohibit cadmium from TVs and displays sold in Europe from October 2019, as part of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. This is subject to ratification by the European Council and Parliament. Cadmium in lighting products will be prohibited with immediate effect, although they are not commercially available.
Cadmium is one of six hazardous substances banned from use in Europe in electrical and electronic equipment by the RoHS Directive, which was designed to protect human and environmental health. The RoHS Directive recognizes cadmium as the most hazardous heavy metal; ten times more toxic than mercury or lead.
“This is a much-needed decision, which will provide market certainty as to the end date of cadmium use in TVs and displays, with immediate effect for lighting,” said Dr. Michael Edelman, CEO of Nanoco, a manufacturer of cadmium-free quantum dots and other materials. “The European Commission is putting the health of consumers first and removing deadly cadmium from these household products in an expedited timeframe.”
Natcore Technology Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PSECC Solar Farms Ltd., a climate change mitigation company and developer of solar farms, under which PSECC would engage Natcore to develop solar projects within the United States. The company is developing quantum-dot solar cells to significantly lower the costs and improve the power output of solar cells.
QDs have long been slated for application in anti-counterfeiting applications. However, researchers at Lancaster University start-up Quantum Base are working on a graphene-based identity tag that can be scanned using a smartphone, to provide a possible solution to the fake goods problem. “Everything is unique at the atomic scale,” Professor Robert Young. at Lancaster University said “These materials come with strange quantum properties and their properties change if you move a single atom. It is these changes that we are measuring. The properties of the materials are sensitive to small scale imperfections.” Read more at https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.07949
