---
title: "Quantum Dots Enable 3-D Printing of Contacts Lens With LEDs"
description: "Researchers at Princeton University have used 3D printing to create an entire contact lens with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) embedded into it."
date: "2015-03-16"
modified: "2015-08-13"
authors:
  - name: "Matthew Lincoln"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/justmatt"
url: "https://futurism.com/quantum-dots-enable-3-d-printing-of-contacts-lens-with-leds"
categories:
  - "Computing"
  - "Quantum Computing"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "3d printing"
---

# Quantum Dots Enable 3-D Printing of Contacts Lens With LEDs

![Default Futurism featured image](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Futurism-Filler-Image.jpg>)

- For the contact lens to actually work, it would require an external energy source, making it impractical as a real-world device. However, the real point for the Princeton team was to show that it’s possible to produce electronic devices into complex shapes using equally complex materials.
- The LED was made out of the somewhat exotic nanoparticles known as quantum dots. Quantum dots are a nanocrystal that have been fashioned out of semiconductor materials and possess distinct optoelectronic properties, most notably fluorescence, which makes them applicable in this case for the LEDs of the contact lens.
- While the researchers concede that the 3D printing of electronics in this way is not applicable for a lot of electronics manufacturing in which multiple copies need to be produced with a very high reliability, it may make sense for bespoke applications such as those needed for medical devices.