While Sony might
currently be spoken about in TV circles for its blazing 4K sets, the future could hold something quite
different. In fact, Sony's Next Big Thing—Triluminous displays—will be powered
by quantum physics.
The new range of
TVs will be the first consumer devices to make use of quantum dots: a
previously lab-based semiconductor technology, which uses "tuned"
nanocrystals so small—around 10 nanometres in diameter— that they exhibit
quantum properties. As a result, they emit light at highly specific and
predetermined wavelengths, allowing them to offer a 50 percent increase in the
range of colors that screens can produce.
It's that
promise which has Sony excited over the technology. But what's different about
the new sets, other than a bunch of tiny dots? Nature explains:
"The contrast
with today's flat screens begins with the light source. Conventional LCDs use a
high-intensity blue LED backlight whose glow is converted by a phosphor coating
to create a broadband, white light used to make the moving TV images. The new
Triluminos televisions instead pair an uncoated blue LED with a thin glass
tube filled with quantum dots. Two kinds of quantum dots in the tube absorb
some of the blue light from the backlight and re-emit it as pure red and green
light. The resulting white light is more intense at the wavelengths of these
three specific colours than the white light made by a phosphor-coated LED, so
that more colour comes through in the images."
While pushing
the bounds of technological capability with cutting edge science is something
we heartily support, it remains to be seen how the use of quantum dots will
directly benefit consumers. These TVs may offer up improvements that the
everyday viewer doesn't really appreciate—but we'll have to wait and see how
the sets perform in real life before we know what they can truly offer.
Unsurprisingly, there's no timeline for the release of the Triluminous
displays. [Engadget]
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