Quantum dots are nothing but a simple programmable matter. Don't think about it as in case of a sci-fi movie, but it actually closely resembles it.

Moving into the theory these are kind of semi-conductors which we use in the daily life but here the electrons and the holes are confined in the three spacial dimensions and of course very tightly packed. They exhibit electrical properties which one can actually use it for different purposes as like in the LED, solar cells, transistors and diode cells.

The term "Quantum Dots" was first coined by Mark Reed. When I described it as a programmable matter it actually doesn't define it on a large scale but it can be controlled by various methods. Just in case, if you need to control the photo luminescence of these dots, you can do it by varying the diameter of the dots. The larger diameter dots emit out frequencies of greater wavelength and vice versa.

For a detailed explanation we are intended to embed a video which can take you through a brief description over what is quantum dots.