Technology developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is bringing lifelike color and vividness to electronic devices – from tablets and smartphones to laptops and high definition (HD) televisions – while controlling power consumption and costs.

Widespread international use of electronic devices has increased the demand for energy to power them. More energy efficient displays, with uncompromised color accuracy and brightness, are needed.

Scientists at LBNL discovered that when they shined a high-energy light on tiny spherical crystals, called quantum dots, the crystals would convert the light to a different color, depending on the size of the crystal. The scientists learned to manipulate the quantum dots to emit extremely pure forms of red, green and blue (RGB) light—the colors needed to produce the pixels on our digital displays.

LBNL’s quantum dot technology portfolio was licensed by startup Nanosys, Inc. for use in electronic displays. Nanosys then partnered with LG Innotek and 3M to develop a way to improve the appearance of colors on LCD (liquid crystal display) screens.

Quantum Dot Enhancement Film™ (QDEF), an engineered sheet containing quantum dots, provides a 50% wider color spectrum for brighter, more vivid colors in electronic displays at a comparable price and 20% lower power consumption levels than a standard LCD screen. 

A multi-million dollar plant expansion in 2019 more than doubled production capacity of the company’s quantum dot materials to more than 50 tons per year. As of 2019, consumer electronics brands have shipped more than 10 million devices based on Nanosys’s technology.