QDTV (Quantum Dot Television)

British scientists have developed a technology which they claim could be used to produce TV that can be rolled up and carried in a pocket. A team at Manchester University has actually developed a new form of light-emitting crystals, known as quantum dots, (QD) which can be used to produce ultra-thin televisions.

Quantum dots or QDs are tiny crystals, which are 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. In simple language they are microscopic semiconductors whose electronic characteristics are closely related to the size and shape of the individual crystal. Generally, the smaller the size of the crystal, the larger the band gap, the greater the difference in energy between the highest valence band and the lowest conduction band becomes, therefore more energy is needed to excite the dot, and concurrently, more energy is released when the crystal returns to its resting state. The scientists say that the QDs can be printed onto flexible plastic sheets to produce a paper-thin display which can be easily carried around, or even onto wallpaper to create giant room-size screens.

Scientists hope the first quantum dot televisions — like current flat-screen TVs, but with improved colour and thinner displays — will be available in shops by end of next year; a flexible version is expected to take at least three years to reach market.