Inkjet Printing Patterned Quantum Dot Microarrays

Quantum dot color conversion technology (QDCC) has attracted extensive interest in display due to its high performance, low cost, and easy integration. However, due to the limited thickness and nonuniform morphology, the color convention pixels generally exhibit a low performance accompanied by blue light leakage or optical crosstalk. Here, we report the fabrication of quantum dot (QD) microarrays by using photocurable QD ink. The resulting QD microarrays exhibit 3D morphology with hemisphere shape without coffee-ring effect as well as strong photoluminescence, which is desirable for QDCC applications. We demonstrate the dominant role of UV curable inks and surface functionalized substrate in controlling the shape of microarrays, where a large contact angle (66°) and large height to diameter ratio (0.35) can be achieved. The fabrication of 3D QDs microarrays opens up new opportunities in a variety of applications including Micro-LED and near-field display.