Light-emitting diodes (LED) are rapidly replacing traditional light-bulbs in many applications. Organic LED (OLED) is an efficient LED technology, as it supplies the light only when needed and in the color that is desired. However, the production of OLED is expensive. It requires a deposition of small molecules in vacuum, and the application on large surfaces is limited.
Solution-processed LEDs, with quantum dots as the generators of light, may be a cost-efficient and widely applicable alternative. A group of scientists from Zhejiang university has recently made a breakthrough contribution to this new technology. They report a quantum-dot based LED with a performance that equals the best vacuum-deposited OLED, such as a 100.000 hours lifetime.
The scientists have generated a lot of excitement in the community (for instance, their nature paper obtained over 30.000 views in the first month after publication) and expect that the results will initiate the development of a new generation of LED. Such light sources should find applications in displays and other solid-state lighting technologies.