BOE and Samsung Display both showed electroluminescent quantum dot displays, but neither is commercial ready yet.

Chris Chinnock for Insight Media

I’ve just returned from Display Week and want to share some insights on QD-EL technology—that’s Quantum Dot Electroluminescent.

There are two types of quantum dots:

• Photoluminescent (PL-QD): These are the ones currently commercialized and widely used in TVs and monitors. They’re activated by light—typically blue, sometimes UV.
• Electroluminescent (EL-QD): These are activated by voltage and current instead of light. They promise higher efficiency but are still in early development.

At Display Week, I saw two notable announcements:

Samsung Display

• 18.2-inch device
  • Resolution: 3200 × 1800 (202 PPI)
  • Luminance: 400 nits (without polarizer)
  • Color gamut: 86% BT.2020 (without color filter)
  • Inkjet printed, cadmium-free quantum dots
• 6.55-inch device
  • Resolution: 960 × 1440 (264 PPI)
  • Luminance: 300 nits
  • Color gamut: 79% BT.2020
  • Also inkjet printed and cadmium-free

The 18.2-inch model improved from 250 nits last year to 400 nits—a good step forward.

BOE

• 7.9-inch device
  • Resolution: 4K (~560 PPI)
  • Color gamut: >90% BT.2020
  • LTPS backplane, photolithographic process
  • Uses cadmium-based quantum dots (low concentration)

BOE calls this AMQLED, but it’s essentially the same technology as EL-QD.

Key challenge: Neither device is commercial yet, and the main limiting factor appears to be material lifetime. No lifetime data was provided, but that’s likely the biggest hurdle.