We're happy to introduce QNA Technology, a company developing advanced quantum dots for the display industry, focusing on materials optimized for electroluminescent (QD-EL) and UV microLED display devices. Through proprietary surface engineering, QNA enables its quantum dots to be delivered in a variety of forms, including polar and non-polar solvents, monomers, and powders - and is advancing the development of quantum dot inks for inkjet printing and UV-curable applications.
We’re excited to feature Artur Podhorodecki, CEO and Founder, who shares his insights and vision in this exclusive Q&A:
- Hello Artur, can you introduce your company and technology?
QNA Technology is a manufacturer of semiconducting nanomaterials and nanomaterial-based inks. The company is located in Wrocław, Poland, and was established in December 2016. Since 2023, it has been listed on the NewConnect - alternative stock market in Poland.
The company’s flagship products are heavy-metal-free, blue light-emitting quantum dots and UV-curable inks based on these materials.
QNA Technology focuses on developing nanomaterial synthesis technologies, including upscaling and purification methods, as well as the development of new nanomaterials, surface modification of quantum dots, and the formulation of inks and photoresists based on quantum dots. This year, the company will launch its first pilot synthesis line in Wrocław and is going to introduce a new pilot product.
- Can you say why you joined the MicroLED Association and what you hope to achieve?
Our blue light-emitting quantum dots are already of very high quality and can be supplied in large quantities. The primary application for our materials is in electroluminescent displays (QDEL). However, we believe that using quantum dots in microLED displays can also offer significant advantages compared to native RGB solutions.
To integrate QDs into microLED technology, they need to be provided in the form of UV-curable inks or photoresists. Ensuring that QDs remain stable and highly efficient during the transition from a solvent phase to an ink or photoresist phase is a non-trivial challenge. At QNA Technology, we possess the know-how to formulate such inks and photoresist. Moreover, we offer UV-curable inks and photoresists based on our heavy-metal-free PureBlue.dots - blue light emitting QDs. This material is essential for fabricating UV LED microdisplays that convert UV light into red, green, and blue light.
We believe we can contribute unique materials and extensive expertise in quantum dots and ink formulation to the MicroLED Association—supporting efforts to overcome challenges on the path to the full commercialization of microLED technologies. We can deliver unique blue QDs/ink or unique service of making customized inks based on different kinds of QDs.
- What is your biggest challenge, and success to date in the microLED industry?
We are currently facing two main challenges in the microLED industry—one technological and the other business-related—regarding our blue light-emitting quantum dots, PureBlue.dots.
This unique material, which is still not commercially available, can be used in systems utilizing UV microLEDs. So far, only a limited number of companies have the capability to work with this type of solution, primarily because few companies offer UV microLED arrays with a good efficiency. However, this approach becomes particularly attractive when the LED size drops below 10 microns, as the efficiency of both blue and UV LEDs becomes comparable at that scale.
Moreover, using UV LEDs offers several advantages:
- It eliminates blue light leakage
- It significantly increases the absorption efficiency of red and green QDs (allowing for thinner QD layers and less material)
- It improves pixel transfer, as the QD emission peak is not sensitive to the excitation wavelength of UV LEDs
- It eliminates the need for color-patterned filters
So our challenge here is to find a sufficient number of partners who have capabilities to work on such technology.
The main technological challenge lies in the stability of the UV-curable ink and photoresist layers. While our QDs already offer very high quality and intrinsic stability, the stability of the final deposited layer—whether formed from ink or photoresist—is a different matter. This stability depends on several factors, including QD density, layer thickness, ink viscosity, excitation power density, excitation wavelength, and more. Therefore, while it is always possible to enhance the stability of such layers, it must be done in relation to specific device conditions. On the other hand, the lifetime can be always better and tested at higher excitation flux so this challenge probably will stay with us for a longer time.
- Can you detail your latest prototype/demonstration?
Our latest materials exhibit a very high emission quantum yield, reaching up to 90%. The color quality of our quantum dots is also excellent. Additionally, the emission peak can be tuned from 460 down to 420 nm, with a spectral linewidth narrowing to below 15 nm on the shorter wavelength side.
These materials are highly stable in liquid form and can be delivered in a variety of solvents, monomers, as well as in the form of UV-curable inks and photoresists. Importantly, we can already provide these materials at high purity and on a large scale.
The UV-curable inks are still under development, but even at this stage, the quantum yield of layers made from these inks is around 60%, and the color performance fully meets the DCI-P3 standard. Our optical stability tests have also shown very promising results, although I prefer not to share exact figures yet, as these values continue to improve month by month.
At the device prototype level, I can currently share results for QDEL devices (used in electroluminescent displays), where our partners have achieved LEDs based on our PureBlue.dots with external quantum efficiencies (EQE) of 20–24% and excellent color characteristics.
I hope to be able to share some data on micro-UV LED prototypes soon, but this work is still in its early stages
- How do you see microLEDs changing the display industry in the next 5–10 years?
Of course, I would love to see many new products on the market using our materials, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for domination of QD-enhanced microLED solutions. But more seriously, at this stage it’s very hard to predict the future of this industry.
I see a lot of interesting work being done on RGB wafers, which could potentially overcome many go-to-market barriers. For now, the only application where the benefits of microLEDs seem to justify the costs is AR glasses - and perhaps more futuristic areas like optical communication. For other products, this technology currently seems less justified to me.
OLED is still a fast moving target, and QDEL technology - which our blue quantum dots were primarily designed for - may combine the advantages of both OLED and microLED approaches. There are already QDEL lab prototypes that show even 1 M nits brightness with very good color quality which can be printed or deposited on foil, glass and obtained with comparable to OLED costs.
Thank you Artur, good luck to you and QNA Technology!