Nanosys Inc is a California based technology company that designs and manufactures nanotechnology materials to improve display color performance and batteries. The company is a leading provider of quantum technology development for display manufacturers. Nanonsys works with display makers like Samsung, Hitachi Chemical, LG, 3M, and BOE for in-display color conversion technology. It owns one of the worlds largest, a 60,000 square foot manufacturing, research, and development facility in Milpitas, California. The factory has a capacity of producing 25 tons of “Quantum Dot Concentrate” or enough material for more than 6 million 60" TVs per year.
The quantum dot color conversion technology from QDEF converts blue light from a plastic LGP (Light Guide Plate) backlight into pure red, green, and blue light. Quantum Dot Enhancement Film, or QDEF was announced on May 17, 2011, at the Society for Information Display (SID) Display Week tradeshow. Current LCD screen display devices can use it with simple diffuser sheet replacement. QDEF enables display screen manufacturers to achieve more than 90% BT.2020 color gamut coverage and 2000 nits brightness.
Nanosys’s QDOG is quantum dot color conversion technology that’s on glass instead of a film which results in sharper and cleaner images. Quantum Dot implementation eliminates the need for plastic barrier films and enables 5mm-thin LCD screens in products from monitors to TVs. QDOG is 100% heavy-metal free quantum dot technology and available from Nanosys’ select display panel partners. As of July 2019, QDCC-OLED is in development and is also 100% heavy-metal free.
Nanosys develops and markets three types of quantum dot products for use in LCD backlight applications such as Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF) or Quantum Dot on Glass (QDOG). The company manufactures traditional as well as innovative heavy-metal free Quantum Dot products based on industry demands.
Nanosys manufactures economic traditional Quantum Dots with performance compared to industry leading alternatives. Traditional Quantum dot products use heavy metals like Cadmium, which is considered a pollutant and toxic in nature. However, a study in market growth performed in July 2019 show significant demand for traditional Quantum Dot products.
Unlike traditional Cadmium-based materials, Hyperion Quantum Dots are made using a manufacturing technique that combines a Cadmium-free red emitter with an ultra-low Cadmium green emitter. European Union has restrictions based on the quantity of cadmium used in products, but Hyperion Quantum Dot films do not require an exemption to the EU’s Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive.
Heavy-metal free Quantum Dots is a product that is free of any heavy metal elements like Cadmium and Lead for environmental friendly requirements. The product can achieve more than 98% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage for display application.
Jim Heath, Larry Bock, and Peidong Yang co-founded the company in 2001 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Lux Capital is an equity investor in Nanosys and was part of a funding round in 2003.
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Funding Rounds
SBIR/STTR Awards
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Further Resources
Quantum Dot: The Technology Platform for Future Displays By Nanosys
May 25, 2018