Nanosys Inc. and the Optical Systems Division of 3M Company are joining technologies to provide wide-color-gamut technology for consumer electronic displays, allowing liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to display 50 percent more color.

The companies will commercialize Nanosys’ Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF), a drop-in film that LCD manufacturers can integrate with existing production processes.

It uses the light emitting properties of quantum dots to create an backlight for LCDs.

Current LCDs are currently limited to displaying 35 percent or less of the visible color spectrum.  This means the viewing experience on an LCD is vastly different than what a person sees in the real world.  Wide-color-gamut displays will allow consumers to enjoy more visceral, more immersive and truer to life color, according to 3M.

A quantum dot, which is 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, can emit light at a very precise wavelength.  The ability to control the spectral output of a quantum dot allows QDEF to create an ideal white backlight specifically designed for LCDs.  Trillions of these quantum dots are packaged into a thin film that fits inside an LCD backlight unit.  QDEF replaces a similar film already found inside LCD backlights, which means that adding QDEF to manufacturing processes requires no new equipment or process changes for the LCD manufacturer.