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Full-colour quantum dot displays fabricated by transfer printing

Nature Photonics volume 5, pages 176–182 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Light-emitting diodes with quantum dot luminophores show promise in the development of next-generation displays, because quantum dot luminophores demonstrate high quantum yields, extremely narrow emission, spectral tunability and high stability, among other beneficial characteristics. However, the inability to achieve size-selective quantum dot patterning by conventional methods hinders the realization of full-colour quantum dot displays. Here, we report the first demonstration of a large-area, full-colour quantum dot display, including in flexible form, using optimized quantum dot films, and with control of the nano-interfaces and carrier behaviour. Printed quantum dot films exhibit excellent morphology, well-ordered quantum dot structure and clearly defined interfaces. These characteristics are achieved through the solvent-free transfer of quantum dot films and the compact structure of the quantum dot networks. Significant enhancements in charge transport/balance in the quantum dot layer improve electroluminescent performance. A method using plasmonic coupling is also suggested to further enhance luminous efficiency. The results suggest routes towards creating large-scale optoelectronic devices in displays, solid-state lighting and photovoltaics.

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Figure 1: Schematic illustration of solvent-free transfer printing.
Figure 2: Influence of peeling velocity on pick-up yield under different pressures.
Figure 3: Comparison of QD film morphology.
Figure 4: Characteristics of transfer-printed QD device.
Figure 5: Full-colour QD display and its flexible form.
Figure 6: Electroluminescent emission from transfer-printed RGB QD films on back-plane pixel arrays.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank I. Song and Y.N. Kwon for their help with technical measurement of quantum dot films, S.N. Cha for design support for the transfer printing machine, and K. Kim, J. Kim and K.-W. Kim for GISAXS measurements. Synchrotron GISAXS measurements at Pohang Accelerator Laboratory were supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the POSCO Company.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Frontier Research Laboratory, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics, Yongin, Kyunggi-do, 446-712, South Korea

    Tae-Ho Kim, Kyung-Sang Cho, Eun Kyung Lee, Sang Jin Lee, Byoung Lyong Choi & Jong Min Kim

  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul, 151-747, South Korea

    Jungseok Chae & Young Kuk

  3. Display Laboratory, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics, Yongin, Kyunggi-do, 446-712, South Korea

    Jung Woo Kim, Do Hwan Kim, Jang-Yeon Kwon & Sang Yoon Lee

  4. Electrical Engineering Division, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0FA, UK

    Gehan Amaratunga

  5. Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics, Yongin, Kyunggi-do, 446-712, South Korea

    Kinam Kim

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  1. Tae-Ho Kim
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Contributions

T.-H.K., K.-S.C., E.K.L., J.M.K. and B.L.C. designed the experiments. T.-H.K., K.-S.C., E.K.L., S.J.L., J.C., D.H.K., B.L.C. and Y.K. performed the experiments and analyses. G.A. and K.K. advised on the project, and J.M.K. supervised the project. J.W.K., J.-Y.K. and S.Y.L. contributed to technical support and design for the TFT backplane. T.-H.K., K.-S.C., G.A., Y.K., B.L.C. and J.M.K. wrote the paper.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Byoung Lyong Choi or Jong Min Kim.

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Kim, TH., Cho, KS., Lee, E. et al. Full-colour quantum dot displays fabricated by transfer printing. Nature Photon 5, 176–182 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2011.12

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