Nobel prize for work on quantum dots that add colour to LEDs

25 October 2023 News

Scientists Moungi Bawendi (MIT), Louis Brus (Columbia University) and Alexei Ekimov (Nanocrystals Technology Inc) won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of clusters of atoms known as quantum dots, now used to create colour in flat screens, light emitting diode (LED) lamps, and devices that help surgeons see blood vessels in tumours.

The award by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the scientists had ‘added colour to nanotechnology’ and that their findings held great potential in many fields. Nanotechnology is a mushrooming field today with many fields having to deal with miniaturisation caused by the march towards low SWaP designs.

In a statement, the academy remarked: “Researchers believe that in the future [the technology] could contribute to flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication.”

Inaugurated in 1901, the prize awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is worth $1 million.

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