Samsung’s new tech could make QLED TVs cheaper

Samsung is working on a new way to make QLED TVs more affordable. They’re teaming up with Hansol Chemical to create a simpler quantum dot (QD) sheet, which is a key part of QLED displays. Right now, QLED TVs use a QD sheet with five layers: two barrier films, two PET layers, and a QD layer in the middle.

These barrier films protect the QD layer from moisture and oxygen, but they’re expensive, making up about 40% of the sheet’s cost. Samsung relies on a Japanese company, Dainippon Printing, for these films, which adds to the price. The new plan is to cut the sheet down to three layers: PET, QD layer, and PET.

This skips the costly barrier films. To keep the QD layer safe, Samsung is developing a method to coat each tiny QD particle individually. If this coating process is cheaper than using barrier films, it could lower the cost of making QLED TVs.

This change won’t affect QD-OLED TVs, which use a different design. Samsung has been researching this for years, and if it works, QLED TVs could become more budget-friendly without losing picture quality.