The prestigious Nobel Chemistry prize for 2023 was awarded to Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Aleksey Ekimov, the three scientists that discovered quantum dots.  The Nobel prize is worth 11 million Swedish crowns (around $1 million), and will be split between the 3 winners.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, that awards the prize, stated that "Researchers believe that in the future they (QDs) could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication".

Value Electronics hosted their annual TV shootout, checking several high-end TVs to see which model provides the best images.

There were six TVs tested in the 4K TV category, two QD-OLEDs, one OLED, and three mini-LED LCDs. The best TV was Sony's A95L QD-OLED TV. The runner-ups were Samsung's S95C (another QD-OLED TV) and LG's G3 OLED (with an LGD WOLED Panel).

Quantum Dots technology is being used today in many display applications (mostly in LCD and OLED displays), and it is expected that adoption QDs in the display industry will continue to grow quickly. Here are some recent and popular news that you may find of interest:

• IDTechEx: The global QD market will reach $550 million by 2034
• Shoei Chemical acquires leading QD developer Nanosys
• Canon announces new quantom-dot inks for display applications
• Samsung Display shows its latest QD-OLED displays at Display Week 2023
• BOE demonstrates a 4.7" high-resolution AMQLED prototype
• Sharp launches its first QD-OLED TV, the AQUOS FS1
• Asus and Philips launch new QD-OLED gaming monitors
• Samsung developed an all-printed 12.4" 182 PPI EL-QD display
• TCL's latest QLED miniLED TV is the world's brightest at 5,000 nits
• Newly-developed perovskite QDs are promising for display color conversion applications
• Samsung Display completes the switch to a full-fledged QD-OLED centered business
• Samsung said to increase QD-OLED capacity to produce monitor panels for Apple

IDTechEx posted an article detailing the company's views on the quantum dot materials market for the display industry. The article details the progress from QD on Edge technology, to QDEF,  QDOG, QDCC and finally QLED displays (emissive QDs, or QD-EL).

IDTechEx believes that QDs are the "ultimate emissive material for displays", tracking efficiency and lifetime improvements. IDTechEx estimates that the global market for QD materials will reach $550 million by 2023 - this includes all QD applications, not just displays (but displays is one of the major markets).

Japan-based Shoei Chemical announced today that it is acquiring US-based QD developer Nanosys. This is not a complete acquisition, but Shoei acquires "substantially all the assets associated with the Nanosys quantum dot business".  Shoei will continue to operate the Nanosys brand and its Silicon Valley-based R&D facility and labs.

Shoei Chemical has been exclusively producing Nanosys' quantum dots materials for the past four years, and the companies already have a close relationship. Nanosys has shipped QD materials to over 1,000 unique products and a total of over 70 million devices, including monitors, TVs and tablets.

TCL announced a new flagship QLED 4K TV, the X955 - a miniLED backlit TV, that offers over 5,000 local dimming zones, and a peak brightness of 5,000 nits - probably the brightest consumer TV ever.

The X955 is powered by TCL's AIPQ 3.0 processor, and is available in either 85-inch or 95-inch in size. TCL did not yet reveal the expected price.

Both Asus and Philips announced new gaming monitors based on Samsung's QD-OLED panel. First up is the Asus PG32UCDM, that uses a 32" 4K (3840x2160, 16:9) 240Hz VRR 1000 nits (HDR peak) QD-OLED panel. The PG32UCDM makes use of a graphene film for heat dissipation.

The Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 is a high-end gaming monitor, that is based on an ultrawide 49" 240Hz VRR 5120x1440 QD-OLED panel. Other features include Adaptive-Sync, NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync support, HDMI 2.1 VRR and a 30 W  audio system. The Philips monitor will ship in September 2023, for around $2,100.

Researchers from MIT have devised a new method to precisely assemble arrays of quantum rods, using scaffolds made of folded DNA. Using this method, the orientation of the rods can be controlled, which is a key factor in determining the polarization of light emitted by the quantum rods array.

The method starts by attaching the quantum rods to diamond-shaped DNA origami structures, built at an exact size required by the device. The structures are then attached to a surface, where they fit together "like puzzle pieces". 

Poland-based QNA Technology, a quantum dots developer and producer, raised $4 million in its latest financing round,and the company is now preparing to apply for a listing at the Polish ASO NewConnect stock exchange for early stage companies.

QNA was established in 2016, and is focused on blue light (400-490 nm) emitting, heavy metal-free quantum dots. The company optimizes its QDs for two applications: electroluminescence display devices (QD-EL) and for microLED displays devices based on UV microLEDs.