High-end TVs have become a trend. What is the significance of quantum dots for the consumption upgrade of China's electronics market?

On April 13, the "2017 International Quantum Dot Display Industry Forum" hosted by the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce was held in Beijing. The forum invited leaders and experts from Chinese and foreign quantum dot industry research institutions such as the China Electronic Video Industry Association, China Household Electrical Appliances Business Association, Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang University, Beijing Jiaotong University, Nanosys, Spectracal, Aowei, Zhongyikang, TCL, Samsung, Hisense, Nanocrystal, Beida Jubang, Gome, and Suning, as well as companies in the upstream and downstream industry chains of quantum dot TVs, to discuss the advantages of quantum dot display technology and market development trends, and jointly promote the popularization of quantum dot TV consumption.

Breaking through the ceiling of LED technology, quantum dots seize the high ground of next-generation display technology

Since its introduction in the 1970s, quantum dot technology has received extensive attention and in-depth research from the scientific community. The industry has also been accelerating, and has been widely used in the fields of biomedicine and lighting. In particular, it has made great breakthroughs in the display field, and its excellent display performance has attracted the attention of color TV manufacturers. Quantum dot display technology is regarded as an innovative step to break through the ceiling of LED technology, and is also regarded by many industry experts as a display technology revolution that affects the world.

It is understood that in the display field, the use of quantum dot materials in backlight sources has four unique advantages:

1. Longer lifespan - Since mature inorganic materials are used, the fluorescence lifespan is longer. It is reported that the quantum dot material used by TCL has a lifespan of up to 60,000 hours, so there is no need to worry about product lifespan issues.

2. Wider color gamut - Quantum dot technology increases the LCD color gamut by 38% without increasing the thickness of the CF film. Currently, the industry generally uses the NTSC color gamut standard to measure color display effects. The wider the color gamut, the richer the color range presented by the TV and the more it can reflect the true color of things.

3. Purer colors - With the help of quantum display materials, the spectral peaks corresponding to the three primary colors of red, green and blue displayed by quantum dot TVs are clear and distinct, with no overlap, bringing the purest color expression.

4. Higher brightness - Quantum dot display materials can significantly increase LCD brightness and save energy. Quantum dot technology will effectively solve the dilemma of high color gamut but low brightness caused by traditional methods, while high brightness requires increasing the number of LED chips, which increases energy consumption and cost.

Because of this, TCL and Samsung have unswervingly taken the quantum dot TV technology route and made quantum dot TVs their main products. Hisense has chosen "ULED + quantum dot" technology as the technological breakthrough direction for its TV product line.

The test results show that the picture quality of quantum dot TVs is comparable to that of OLED TVs, and is even better than OLED TVs in some individual indicators.

Professor Peng Xiaogang, a professor at the Department of Chemistry of Zhejiang University and a senior expert on quantum dots, pointed out in an interview with reporters at the forum that "the use of quantum dot technology can double the color of LCD display, greatly improving the color expression of LCD TVs. In addition, it is low-cost and has excellent performance. Quantum dots are undoubtedly the best choice in the face of resource crisis."

Professor Xu Zheng of Beijing Jiaotong University said that the application of quantum dots in display technology mainly includes two aspects: quantum dot backlight technology based on the photoluminescence characteristics of quantum dots and quantum dot light-emitting diode display technology based on the electroluminescence characteristics of quantum dots. Among them, electroluminescence is a quantum dot technology that truly has self-luminescence characteristics, and it is also the future direction of the color TV industry.

It is understood that electroluminescent quantum dot technology is under research. Once successfully developed, quantum dot televisions will become flexible media in the future and can be rolled up. Quantum dots can also be made into flexible screens for printing. In addition, the Ministry of Science and Technology has listed quantum dot printing display as a key technology in the "13th Five-Year Plan". It can be seen that the development space of quantum dot display technology will be unlimited.

At present, quantum dot technology is not only widely used in the display field, but also has relatively mature applications in biomedicine, lighting, food testing, etc. For example, the micro quantum dot spectrometer, a new type of spectrometer built using the inherent properties of quantum dots, makes a previously bulky experimental equipment easily enter daily life. At the same time, this use of spectrometers can also detect environmental pollution and judge food safety. At the same time, quantum dot lighting products have also become the focus of attention of the audience. It is understood that the desk lamp using quantum dot materials has the characteristics of full spectrum, blue light reduction, high CRI, and no flicker. It solves the problem of harmful components such as infrared, ultraviolet, flicker, and mercury in traditional light sources, and is adapted to the victory and psychological needs of human light use, and can achieve eye protection effects.

Quantum dot technology will change every aspect of human life in the future, including television, communications, medical care, and outer space exploration. It is a revolutionary technological breakthrough in the long history of human evolution and represents the true direction of future technological development.

Quantum dots drive market consumption upgrades and lead the new trend of high-end TVs

With the continuous promotion of supply-side structural reform and the rise of consumption upgrading, the high-end trend in the field of color TV is becoming more and more obvious, and consumers pay more attention to high-end products that improve their quality of life. In the field of high-end TV, quantum dot TV is undoubtedly a backbone force.

Ouyang Zhongcan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyzed that liquid crystal display is still the mainstream, and TFT-LCD revenue will still account for 84% of the global display industry in 2022, making it the fastest-growing technology. The reason why so many color TV companies use quantum dot TVs as their main products is because of the huge market capacity of LCD TVs and the high awareness of consumers for LCD products. After more than ten years of development, the technology of LCD TVs has continued to develop and gradually mature and improve, and the application of quantum dot technology has brought the picture quality of LCD TVs to a new level. At the same time, this is also an important direction for the transformation of LCD TVs to high-end. In the next ten years, display technology will still be dominated by TFT-LCD.

At the forum, Dr. Luo Zhongsheng, General Manager of Nanosys Greater China, an internationally renowned quantum dot material invention company, delivered a speech entitled "Quantum Dots Make the Ultimate Visual Experience Possible". He said that quantum dot technology is a major change in the display industry and will become one of the mainstream technologies in the display industry in the future. Quantum dot display technology is a disruptive technological innovation in the LCD era. It has the advantages of high color purity, strong color reproduction ability, high brightness and long life, and will become a strong competitor to OLED organic TVs.

NPD Display Search, a well-known market research organization, predicts that the annual growth rate of quantum dot TVs in the Chinese market will reach 100%, and is expected to increase from 600,000 units in 2016 to 1.2 million units in 2017. At the same time, the global sales will also increase from 3 million units to 6 million units.

Lu Renbo, a famous home appliance expert and deputy secretary general of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce, said that China's color TV industry has gradually returned to the picture quality route, and there is no doubt that quantum dot technology has become the mainstream display technology for color TV products. The continuous improvement of this technology will also continue to strengthen the competitiveness of the LCD technology camp. With the trend of high-end color TVs, quantum dot technology will undoubtedly lead the new trend of the high-end TV industry.

Upstream and downstream parties work together to reconstruct a new order for the quantum dot display industry

At the meeting, experts, scholars, manufacturers and distributors in the field of quantum dot display from home and abroad reached a consensus on the future development of quantum dot technology and established a strategic partnership to jointly promote the development of the quantum dot display technology industry and reconstruct a new order for the quantum dot display industry.

It is understood that there are three major quantum dot material manufacturers in the world: UK Nanoco, US Nanosys and US QDVision (acquired by Samsung). Among them, Nanosys holds more than 300 patents related to quantum dot display. As for domestic panel companies, such as BOE, Huaxing Optoelectronics, Longteng Optoelectronics, etc., they all have relevant research and development and production of quantum dot technology. It is believed that with the active promotion of quantum dot upstream companies and complete machine manufacturers, 2017 will be a year of accelerated popularization of quantum dot TVs.

At the conference, channel dealers such as Gome, Suning, JD.com, Tmall, Five Star, Chongqing Department Store, and Tangbai signed contracts with quantum dot color TV manufacturers to promote the popularization of quantum dot TV consumption. It is reported that the contract amount between Samsung, TCL, Hisense and channel dealers this year will reach 10 billion yuan. Experts attending the conference said that with the linkage of upstream and downstream parties, quantum dot TV may usher in a big explosion in 2017.

Lu Renbo believes that the TV industry is currently at the crossroads of display technology upgrades. Different color TV companies have made different choices and positions, just like plasma and LCD in the past. At present, China's color TV industry is facing a critical stage of high-end development and product structure upgrades. Quantum dot TVs have broken through the ceiling of LED technology. They are high-quality color TV products based on high-end display technology innovations, representing one of the future development directions of TVs, and are of great significance to the consumption upgrade of China's consumer electronics market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.