Combining Two Photovoltaic Materials Could Make Better LEDs

Invented at Hiroshima University, Japan, the quantum dot (QD) LED lighting system is a light-emitting diode using silicon quantum dot solutions and a polymer solution on top of an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) glass ply that was used as the anode for the LED. The silicon quantum dot solution is placed in the bottom of a glass vial that sits on a rotating stage; it's then synthesized through laser ablation with a 1-octyne solution over several eight-hour periods. Quantum dots are nanocrystals that emit light when "excited" based on their size and replace red, green and blue sub-pixels when implemented in QLED TVs. Although they cost more up-front than traditional LCD TVs, they are cost-efficient and color-effective on the long run.