Quantum Materials Breaks ‘Stokes Shift Barrier’ for QD Clarity

Quantum Materials Corp. said it has found the secret for mass producing clearer, brighter quantum dots (QDs) for displays and other applications.

The company said a patented, continuous-flow process allows consistent, high-volume production of QDs with a strong Stoke shift. The company announced the discovery today at the second annual Quantum Dots Forum in San Francisco.

Named after Irish physicist George G. Stokes, Stokes shift is the difference between a QD’s peak excitation and peak emission wavelengths. Minimizing overlap between total excitation and emission bands enhances the clarity and brightness of fluorescing QDs by avoiding reabsorption of emitted light into other nearby QDs.

Until now it had not been possible to produce Stokes shift in quantum dots of up to 20 nm in quantities suitable for manufacturing applications, the company said.

“Breaking the Stokes shift barrier allows manufacturers to benefit from more consistency in light output and less lost fluorescence due to overlap,” said CEO Stephen Squires.

QDs can be integrated into devices with industry-standard thin-film roll-to-roll inkjet and surface deposition technologies used in existing LCD display production lines.

Quantum Materials also develops cadmium-free QDs, which the company said are being evaluated by major manufacturers for use in environmentally friendly ultrahigh-definition displays. Other applications include solid-state lighting, solar cells, batteries and energy storage, bioimaging and biomedical theranostics.

For more information, visit www.qmcdots.com.