The European Commission recently announced that TVs and displays sold in Europe will ban the use of cadmium, a hazardous substance that is restricted in the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), in October 2019.
Dr. Michael Edelman, CEO of the cadmium-free quantum dot development manufacturer Nanoco, said the ruling will end the use of cadmium, and from now on, any responsible monitor manufacturer must ban the 2019 when developing new products be prepared.
Special process to help promote cadmium
Nanoco is committed to developing proprietary processes and mass-producing CFQD cadmium-free quantum dot materials for a wide variety of applications in place of cadmium. CFQD cadmium-free quantum dot materials are currently being used in LCD displays, lighting, medical care, solar energy battery.
Dr. Edelman further stated that less than 400,000 cadmium-containing products were accounted for by a market share of about 0.08% for the 514 million Wide Color Gamut (WCG) displays worldwide sold in 2016. Today's market leaders For example, Samsung, Merck, and The Dow Chemical Company have also developed a number of cadmium-free technologies that will rapidly replace cadmium-containing technologies Nanoco currently has a non-exclusive agreement with The Dow Chemical Company, Merck KGaA and Hvac Taiwan Of the monitor manufacturing and marketing license agreement, expect to create a cadmium-free quantum dot manufacturing ecosystem.
Cadmium is one of the six hazardous substances in the RoHS Directive that prohibits the use of electrical and electronic equipment in Europe for the protection of human health and the environment. The RoHS Directive regards cadmium as the most dangerous toxic heavy metal and the toxins are mercury and lead In addition to the RoHS directive, other international standards have also joined the anti-cadmium ranks.IEEE1680 standard will limit the content of cadmium below 100ppm, but stressed that the environmental protection of cadmium content should be less than 50ppm, and may not intentionally add any cadmium substances.
Cadmium-free materials mature
Keith Wiggins, chief operating officer of Nanoco, pointed out that the market has learned the advantages of high contrast and high color saturation of quantum dot displays, however, there are many incorrect information flooding the market that the quantum dots must be based on cadmium materials. Cadmium-free QDs are the fastest growing high-performance display products in the global market and, with the success of the Samsung SUHD cadmium-free QDs, the market is ready with all the peripherals to welcome Cadmium display materials, lighting and other equipment, and has been prepared for better related services. Cd-free quantum dot material manufacturers to provide cost-effective and at the same time meet the end consumer demand for color TV monitors, and screen out the risk of contamination of cadmium materials , A win-win situation for manufacturers and end consumers (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Nanoco chief operating officer Keith Wiggins pointed out that the cadmium-free QD material offers manufacturers cost-effective while meeting the color needs of end-consumers for TV displays and eliminating the risk of contamination of cadmium materials.
Cadmium-free materials from Nanoco, on the other hand, can also be used in lighting applications Keith Wiggins noted that cadmium-free QD materials provide a significant breakthrough in LED lighting in addition to increasing the color saturation of the display; Cadmium QD technology can mimic natural light and bring perfect color performance to indoor lighting.
With nanoco's cadmium-free quantum dot material for more subtle control of light, it is possible to tailor lighting products to meet a variety of professional needs and to assist with lighting applications in a variety of specialist fields. Examples of Keith Wiggins, exhibition spaces such as museums and galleries, On the other hand, Cd-free QD technology can also be used in horticultural greenhouses and also in the field of medical cosmetology for a wide range of applications.
2019 No Cadmium Ban Taiwan panel factory has positioned
ITRI production center manager Lin Zemin said that at present, cadmium-free quantum dot material has been quite mature, Samsung also introduced the related products.Although energy conversion power is not comparable to traditional quantum dot materials, but for such large-size monitors as television, The requirements for power consumption are relatively more forgiving and therefore do not cause much impact (Figure 2).
Figure 2 ITRI Manager Lin Zemin said although the energy conversion power of cadmium-free materials is less than traditional quantum dot materials, for large-size displays such as televisions, however, the power requirements are relatively more forgiving and therefore will not Cause too much impact.
High-contrast, high-color saturation as the main selling point of the quantum dot screen, the most direct competitor named is the OLED display.For this reason, although the cost of cadmium-free quantum dots than cadmium materials will be higher, but due to the OLED market price Also high, so it will not be the main limitations of promotion.
In addition, Liao Weilun, general manager of AUO's Video Products Business Group, also pointed out that Taiwan's panel makers are always concerned about the global trend of development. Starting from the early days of quantum dot technology, the development of cadmium-free quantum dot material has been the key technology. Liao Wei-lun believes that cadmium-free quantum dot screen is the trend of development, manufacturers must be determined to keep up with the trend. AUO next will be cadmium-free quantum dot display business as the goal (Figure 3).
Figure 3 AU Optronics Products Group General Manager Liao Weilun table pointed out that the development of cadmium-free quantum screen is the trend, manufacturers must be determined to keep up with the trend.