QLED panels may soon be going down in price, as Samsung has developed a new type of quantum dot sheet that reportedly lowers the cost of production per panel. According to Korean publication The Elec, Samsung, along with its supplier Hansol Chemical, have developed a quantum dot sheet with only three layers–down from the standard five. Additionally, this new panel design completely eliminates a costly component of quantum dot sheets: barrier film. This film, which coats both sides of a QLED panel, is designed to protect the sheet from water and oxygen. This comes at a high price, as The Elec reports that barrier film accounts for 40% of the cost of each sheet.
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Samsung’s new three layer sheet design eliminates the need for barrier film, drastically cutting down the cost of each sheet. It’s unclear when these potential savings will go into effect, however, as Samsung notes that they don’t currently have a timeline for the new technology’s commercialization. Notably, this new sheet design will not affect QD-OLED panels, as those panels are manufactured through an inkjet-printing process without the need for quantum dot sheets.
