LG Innotek, a global components manufacturer, today announced that the
company succeeded in the mass-production of the world’s highest power
275nm UV (ultraviolet) LEDs. Such success is expected to trigger an
explosion of UV LEDs for purification and sterilization applications.
LG Innotek reported that it mass-produced 275nm UV-C LEDs which emit
in the “C” region (200 ~ 280 nm) of the UV spectrum for sterilization
and began supply to a global consumer electronics company this month.
LG Innotek’s UV-C LED product. (LG Innotek/LEDinside)
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LG Innotek’s UV-C LED products
will be included in the consumer electronics lineup such as air
cleaner, water purifier, toothbrush sterilizer, and other sanitary
products.
A test performed by Korea Conformity Laboratories (KCL) found that
this product removes 99.99 percent of E. Coli, salmonella, and other
germs within 5-liters of water contained in 25 minutes; this is as
effective as the existing mercury UV lamp.
UV-C LED has drawn much attention as an attractive alternative to the
mercury UV lamp due to its numerous advantages including high
efficiency, long life, ultra-compact size, and eco-friendliness.
However, until recently, only sample quantities of UV-C LEDs were
circulated in the industry because of limitations in power and emission
wavelengths.
LG Innotek has developed a proprietary LED optimization technology to
improve the optical power of a UV-C LED chip up to 10 mW at 100mA, the
world’s highest. It has also improved optical efficiency by 15 percent
compared to the mercury lamp, consuming less electrical power.
The company’s UV-C LED measures 6.8mm x 6.8mm and has a depth of only
1.35mm. It has been tested to provide 10,000 hours of operation life
time, which is 1.5 times longer than the mercury lamp. Moreover, its
“instant-on” nature means it does not need any warm-up time to achieve
start the purification/sterilization process, unlike the mercury lamp
that could require over 10-minutes to reach its full power.
Unlike UV lamps, this LED product does not use potentially hazardous
heavy metals such as mercury. It offers high safety, high durability,
and water proof performance. It achieved the IPX7 level of Ingress
Protection rating, meaning its performance is unchanged even after being
submerged in water at 1 m depth for 30 minutes.
LG Innotek said “Since our last April’s announcement of the mass
production of UV-A (365~400nm) LED, which is used in industrial areas,
we have further advanced our UV LED technology by the mass-production
UV-C LED for purification/sterilization applications. LG Innotek offers
the best UV LED chip, package, and module solutions for our customers”
According to “UV LEDs report” by Yole Development, a France-based
market research company, the UV LED market is forecast to grow from 100
million dollars in 2014 year to 270 million dollars in 2017 (43 percent
annually). Korean market research company, SNE Research, also expects
the share of LEDs in the UV light source market to increase from
11percent in 2012 to 62 percent in 2018.