Samsung Display’s chemists have made a breakthrough discovery that will enable the company to recycle the special ink used to make quantum dots, and it could have some positive implications on the price of its premium QD-OLED televisions and monitors.
According to the company, it has come up with a method that allows it to recycle the ink used in the quantum dot manufacturing process more efficiently.
Quantum dot ink is one of the primary ingredients of QD-OLED panels, and Samsung’s new technology will help it to recover up to 80% of the material that’s used to make a single display.
As Samsung explains in its announcement regarding the discovery, it manufactures its QD-OLED panels using an inkjet printing process. This involves spraying red and green QD ink onto the panels using micrometer-sized nozzles.
During this process, around 20% of the total amount of ink used has to be discarded, as it remains stuck in the nozzles once the operation is complete.
However, Samsung now thinks it can recycle up to 80% of that discarded 20% of ink, thanks to its new technology. The recovered ink is regenerated using advanced synthesis techniques that help to revive its purity and optical properties, the company explained. As such, it can be recycled and reused again, without any impact on the QD-OLED display’s performance.
Samsung Display says the new technology has already been integrated within its QD-OLED production lines, and is expected to help it achieve annual cost savings of more than 10 billion won (around £5.63 million).
Even better, Samsung Display said it’s working on a range of other techniques that aim to help improve the productivity of its QD-OLED manufacturing operations and boost overall yields. Among other things, it’s working on ways to improve the performance of its equipment and the efficiency of its manufacturing processes.
Once all of these new techniques are implemented, Samsung Display believes it will be able to achieve a significant reduction in manufacturing costs, which can then be passed onto buyers of its QD-OLED panels. So the net result of all this is that cheaper QD-OLED TVs and monitors are on the horizon, and that’s great news for anyone who wants to get themselves a premium quality product.
