Quantum Dots Will Make Flexible Displays

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Quantum Dots Will Make Flexible Displays

Posted by Unknown on Monday December 12, 2011 @03:30PM from the quantum-ice-cream-of-the-future dept.

judgecorp writes "Quantum dots are small semiconductors, whose properties are defined by their size and shape. British nanotechnology firm Nanoco has found they are ideal for displays, allowing the possibility of screens that can be rolled up — and which also use far less of the hazardous chemicals found in normal screens." In addition to being Cadmium free (a problem in the EU where the exemption for Cadmium in displays expires in 2014), they directly emit light using less power than traditional filtered color LCDs.

17 of 83 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Great... by Haxagon · 2011-12-12 15:37 · Score: 5, Funny

Now leaving my phone in the bathroom means someone will mistake it for toilet paper rather than returning it!
1. Re:Great... by TheInternetGuy · 2011-12-12 16:18 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I don't know, maybe you should choose a different wallpaper?
  
  --
  If my comment didn't sound as good in your head as it did in mine, then I guess we all know who's to blame
Cadmium by wanzeo · 2011-12-12 15:38 · Score: 3, Interesting

First I've heard about Cadmium in LCDs. Anyone know more? The wikipedia article says it's usually inhaled, but it's pretty vague as to how it causes problems.
1. Re:Cadmium by NEDHead · 2011-12-12 16:05 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  The inhalation is a crucial step in the manufacture. A well trained technician can inhale, then spew forth in a finely detailed pattern to create the final image. One of the most exalted practitioners was able to create not only images of Christ, but also Mary, and Colonel Sanders.
2. Re:Cadmium by artor3 · 2011-12-12 16:05 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  I think some reporter got confused. Cadmium hasn't seen much use in displays since the early 80s, because there are better, non-toxic materials that have been discovered since then. I think it's still used in a few applications, but nothing Joe Consumer is likely to buy. Where cadmium is often used is in quantum dots, which has thus far made quantum dots unusable for most consumer applications. That appears to be one of the innovations coming out of the research here... quantum dots that don't use cadmium (or other heavy metals), and are thus safe to use in the creation of the flexible display that everyone's wanted for a while.
3. Re:Cadmium by Dahamma · 2011-12-12 16:48 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Yeah, the reporter (and then the submitter) somehow interpreted the company's press release about a cadmium free QD-LED display to mean normal LCD displays contained cadmium. And then to make it worse the submitter tried to expand on this misinformation by quoting one exemption for a single company's special purpose LED and wrongly applying that to a whole industry and regulatory body. Sigh.
Re:Resolution by interval1066 · 2011-12-12 15:39 · Score: 4, Informative

Think of the resolutions the human eye won't be able to distinguish; dots the size of percentage of a human hair to dots the size of potatoes, its all just a blur to our eyes. But hey, who am I to poop on progress on any scale?

--
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
Re:Resolution by timeOday · 2011-12-12 15:45 · Score: 5, Insightful

Might be great for a head-mounted display though, or augmented-reality contact lenses. Now that voice command is starting to catch on, the largest remaining hindrance to miniaturization is the display.
Re:Resolution by Gaygirlie · 2011-12-12 16:23 · Score: 4, Insightful

or augmented-reality contact lenses
The problem is transmitting the pixel data to the lenses wirelessly while also simultaneously feeding them power somehow: you can't really have wires going to your contact lenses. If that could be solved in a reasonable manner then sure, it would be great. I've been thinking to myself that it'd be neat to have some sort of a small plug behind your ear into which you can plug in a small audio cable, and then have the audio transmitted directly to your inner ear through cranial resonance. Now, combine that with augmented-reality contact lenses/glasses and you've got a really, really powerful system useful for things ranging from entertainment to industrial uses to military uses and even remotely-guided surgeries.
Why compare to LCDs? by thegarbz · 2011-12-12 16:26 · Score: 3, Insightful

We have a potential replacement for LCDs in the works already, and its far more advanced along the R&D chain.
How do these displays compare to OLED which can also be rolled and are also less toxic in their production?
1. Re:Why compare to LCDs? by Dr_Barnowl · 2011-12-12 22:37 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Because they are still working on making stable chemistry for OLED? The clue is in the name - O means organic. Organic molecules decay. The colours on OLED screens therefore fade with time and with UV light.
  They can also consume MORE power than LCD under certain circumstances - the light doesn't need to pass through a filter, true, and they are much more efficient at displaying a mostly black screen (because the OLEDs just switch off while the LCD still generates all that backlight and then blocks it), but in a predominantly white picture, such as is common in computer applications, they can consume more power than the LCD does. I guess that lots of little LED elements are less efficient than a few big ones.
  Quantum dots are teensy little aggregations of inorganic chemicals, so they shouldn't suffer from the same decay problems as OLED.
All hype... by AlexEiffel · 2011-12-12 17:11 · Score: 4, Funny

I looked at a few pics, but they didn't look any better than the monitor I'm already using.
Re:Resolution by timeOday · 2011-12-12 17:12 · Score: 3, Informative

These guys recently pulled it off with wireless power transmission to an antenna that goes around the rim of the lens. Just one monochrome pixel though! And a visible wire to that pixel.
Re:Resolution by EdIII · 2011-12-12 17:29 · Score: 4, Interesting

The answer is not contacts. Direct retinal contact only separated by a thin transparent film. Bypass everything else.
Use the rest of the space in the eye for equipment. Processing, storage, CCD, power generation, etc. With a high enough resolution CCD (or equivalent) you create a cybernetic implant with incredible vision. Overlay any kind of visual information you want on to any surface you can see, or have it hover in front of you.
Re:Resolution by maxwell+demon · 2011-12-12 18:11 · Score: 4, Funny

And if you see strange things, you don't know whether to go to the psychiatrist for hallucinations, or to tech support for someone hacking your augmented reality system.

--
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Re:Resolution by Tapewolf · 2011-12-12 20:16 · Score: 3, Informative

Think of the resolutions the human eye won't be able to distinguish; dots the size of percentage of a human hair to dots the size of potatoes, its all just a blur to our eyes. But hey, who am I to poop on progress on any scale?
What it would mean is that you could support multiple resolutions like on a CRT display. The fact that an LCD has to have a 'native resolution' at all is a nuisance for things like games. That and this thing should sidestep the horrible contrast problems LCD has.
Re:Resolution by FairAndHateful · 2011-12-12 22:16 · Score: 3, Funny

And if you see strange things, you don't know whether to go to the psychiatrist for hallucinations, or to tech support for someone hacking your augmented reality system.
Oh, I got these contacts a while ago, but for some reason I keep seeing a purple ape that claims to be my "buddy". It's been very confusing, and driving has been really dicey.