[Interview] Nanosys’ Jason Hartlove on Why Quantum Dots Are the Future of Display

Samsung’s exhibition at IFA 2016 showcases how the company is working to redefine the consumer experience. One way is through its new range of Quantum dot SUHD televisions, which offer the ultimate in picture quality, brilliance and energy efficiency.

Nanosys, Inc., the world’s leading supplier of quantum dots and long-time partner of Samsung, has played an integral role in accelerating the development of nano-architected materials for these industry-leading displays.

President and CEO of Nanosys, Jason Hartlove, explained during an interview at IFA 2016 how quantum dots are changing the way we experience television.

Q. “Quantum dots” is the latest buzzword in the display industry. Why is this technology such a hot topic?

Quantum dots enable much brighter color meaning that you have both efficiency and improved color gamut. This means that quantum dot televisions allow for more realistic and lifelike content so that viewers can more easily recognize the dream of the content creator, and all the details he or she is trying to show.

Q.What makes Samsung’s 2016 SUHD TVs different from others on the market?

First of all, only cadmium-free materials were used in Samsung’s SUHD TVs. This means no heavy metals were utilized in the construction of these products. Great thought went into this as far as product stewardship and the life cycle of the TV set are concerned.

Secondly, I think Samsung has done a really excellent job of managing all of the content so that when the user experiences it, he’s actually seeing properly tuned and color-mapped images. He’s not just seeing some kind of blown-out color, like one would see if the TV were set to vivid mode. It’s actually a very nice representation of what the director created in terms of his intent for the final image he wants viewers to see.

Q. When will we see QDs being more widely used by TV manufacturers?

This process is continuing all the time and we’re starting to see it ramp up. We expect than in 2016, there will be roughly four to five times more quantum dot TVs in the marketplace than there were in 2015. We’re going to see that number continue to go up by many multiples. So each year, as we go forward, there will be more and more models from more and more manufacturers. We’re already seeing that from Samsung, as the number of quantum dot models they have has really increased dramatically compared to last year.

Q. Nanosys and Samsung are working together to make EL(Electroluminescence) QD TV a reality. What’s the advantage of EL QD technology, particularly from a manufacturer’s perspective?

With the next generation of quantum dots, we’re going to see a more emissive experience—something where the color jumps off the screen even more. It’s going to have a wider viewing angle. It’s going to be much brighter than what we see today, even more than what we see with SUHD.

So with all of these improvements going forward in the future, the experience will become that much more lifelike and immersive. And, of course, we’ll also see great progress in terms of manufacturing and scaling of the technology.

Q. How is Nanosys working to improve quantum dots to enable this to happen?

We’re always working on ways to make our quantum dots better, both in terms of their efficiency, color quality and reproduction, as well as bringing the costs down.

Bringing the costs down involves advances in terms of the manufacturing of quantum dots, but also how we integrate quantum dots into the set. So finding lower-cost, more efficient ways to use the quantum dot material is an area that we’re pioneering. We’re also working on integration into new types of form factors. These new types of form factors can enable lower power consumption, higher energy efficiency and cost reductions.

Q. Nanosys has been a partner of Samsung’s for quite some time. Why continue to collaborate?

Samsung is a clear leader in the electronics and solar sectors. Not only does Samsung bring deep knowledge of solar, memory and display technologies and markets, they bring tremendous experience in scaling up new technologies, which helps Nanosys accelerate the development, production and market introduction of devices enabled by our nano-architected materials.

*The views expressed in this article are the interviewee’s own, and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of Samsung Electronics.