A new type of "quantum dot" technology that can be utilised with both LCD and OLED TVs is believed to be nearing readiness. It promises to dramatically improve colour accuracy, and it could appear as early as next year in the flagship televisions of prominent brands, reports say. It potentially represents an extremely exciting development for the display industry, but analysts remain skeptical on the report.
The emergence of so-called “perovskite quantum dots” or P-QD was first reported by FlatpanelsHD, which said that the technology could well rival the new generation of Micro RGB TVs that feature RGB LED backlights, enhancing colour reproduction well beyond what today’s most powerful Mini-LED TVs can achieve.
As previously discussed by HDTVTest’s Vincent Teoh, Micro RGB TVs from brands such as Samsung and Hisense offer some of the purest colour reproduction yet seen. But the new generation of perovskite quantum dots are said to deliver more than 95% of the Rec.2020 colour gamut when displaying HDR content. If that’s really true, it would mean they’re able to match the performance of RGB LED backlights.
P-QD is said to represent the third generation of quantum dots, and it’s believed that TCL may be one of the first companies to pioneer the technology. It’s said to provide a dramatic improvement in colour accuracy over both first- and second-generation quantum dots. The technology was originally based on a material called cadmium, but it was later found to be dangerously toxic and has been banned in many countries. As a result, TV manufacturers switched to indium quantum dots, but these are less effective than cadmium, providing only around 75% coverage of the Rec.2020 colour palette.
So there’s a lot of room for improvement, and if P-QD really does achieve greater than 95% coverage of the Rec.2020 gamut, it would surpass the capabilities of today’s best QD-OLED TVs, which can hit around 85%-90%, and Micro RGB, which is said to “approach” 95%. The effect would be absolutely noticeable and most likely a very impressive sight indeed. So it’s certainly something to look forward to.
The original article in FlatpanelsHD makes perovskite quantum dots sound truly impressive, but industry analyst Jeff Yurek of Nanosys told HDTVTest that he is skeptical of many of them. For one thing, he questioned whether P-QD even deserves the "third-generation" label, pointing out that their structure is quite different from true quantum dots. He explained that quantum dots are nanoscale semiconductors of such minute size that they can trap electrons in all directions, similar to marbles in a microscopic box. As the size of the box shrinks, the colour of the light changes, due to a process known as quantum confinement.
"Perovskites don’t work that way," Yurek said. "Their grains are tens or hundreds of nanometers wide. That's far too large for quantum confinement. Their colour comes from composition, not size. They rely on bandgap engineering, not confinement. That’s a completely different mechanism."
Yurek also called into question the claims that Perovskites can achieve 95% BT.2020, and pointed out there are challenges to overcome in terms of their durability. He explained that they tend to degrade quickly under moisture, heat, and light, all of which are abundant in a modern high-brightness LCD stack.
"Most demo systems pair a green perovskite with a red KSF phosphor because red perovskites simply aren’t stable enough yet," he said. "That tells you something about commercial readiness."
Perhaps the most worrying thing of all is that perovskites are manufactured using lead. As in, the same substance that goes into leaded petrol and lead-based paint, which raises obvious concerns over the safety of any TV that might feature the new technology. "I'm all for moving away from cadmium, but I'm not sure this is the best direction to go in," Yurek added.
TCL has not confirmed that it’s developing perovskite quantum dots, but there have been lots of rumours that suggest the technology could make its debut on the forthcoming TCL X11, which has already been announced as the company’s 2026 flagship model. TCL has referred to the technology as “Super Quantum Dot”, has promised it will achieve almost 100% Rec.2020 colour, and says it’s positioning the X11 ahead of its first Micro RGB televisions.
It’s said that TCL has been working with a Chinese company called Zhijing Nanotech to develop its Super Quantum Dot tech, and that relationship reportedly dates back to 2020, which is certainly long enough to think it may be ready for prime time.
However, Yurek told HDTVTest he has reason to suspect that TCL will not be using perovskite quantum dots, but some kind of enhanced version of cadmium-based dots. "I think when they say "new" QD, they're referring to a new process allows finer control of peak wavelength," he explained. "We can now do single nanometer PWL accuracy, allowing a bit more color coverage than before."
Still, that's not to say we won't be seeing any new P-QD TVs next year. It's also believed that Samsung Display is working on its own kind of perovskite quantum dots, but it’s not clear how much progress it has made.
There is, however, more encouraging news courtesy of a South Korean firm called SN Display, which has recently been recognized by the organisers of CES 2026 as an “Honoree” for its work on “perovskite colour conversion film”. So it’s not inconceivable that SN Display may end up working with Samsung Display, LG Display and other brands to commercialise its tale on P-QD technology.
