Flat-screen TVs to benefit from quantum-dot technology

Nature : The color quality of television screens is about to be improved with the introduction of quantum dots. Tokyo-based Sony Corp announced that it is going to start integrating the novel technology into its flat screens. Quantum dots consist of nanometer-sized fluorescent particles of a semiconductor such as cadmium selenide. Whereas a bulk semiconductor emits a single color of light, a quantum dot can emit different colors. That is because researchers can manipulate a quantum dot’s shape and size, which in turn affects its quantum behavior and determines its color. Already employed in cell biology as fluorescent imaging labels for proteins and other molecules, quantum dots are just beginning to be exploited in electronics. Their use in TVs could significantly increase demand for the technology, which could cut costs and assist further development of other applications.