UVC LEDs

UVC LEDs 250 nm – 280 nm

Apart from sterilization and disinfection, UVC wavelengths are used in numerous other applications including:

• Water disinfection
• Odor neutralization
• Analytics
• Biotechnology
• UV curing
• UV printing

At LASER COMPONENTS you can get UVC LEDs with different output powers. The peak wavelengths are 255 nm, 265 nm, 272 nm and 275 nm. Technical development is advancing rapidly in this area. Our experts are happy to answer your questions about the current state of the technology and inform you about the innovations that can be expected in the near future.

We also offer SiC detectors for monitoring your UVC LEDs and our extensive product range includes the corresponding filters for all the different power levels, wavelength ranges, and applications.

Germicidal UVC LEDs

The high-energy portion of UV radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere and does not reach Earth's surface. Therefore, neither bacteria nor viruses, humans or animals have developed any protection against it. The UVC light between 250 nm to 280 nm is absorbed by the DNA and changes the structure of the molecules in a way that makes reconstruction and reproduction impossible.

This effect has been successfully used in UVC disinfection for decades. Up to now, mercury vapor lamps with emission peaks at 254 nm have been used. However, these UV sources not only require high voltage; they are also large, unwieldy, fragile, get hot and require long heating times. On top of that, they also contain toxic mercury (Hg).

Modern UVC LED technology offers an excellent alternative in many areas. The small semiconductor chips can be adapted to any geometry and are neither toxic nor fragile. They can be powered by batteries and are ready for immediate use. Add to this the fact that the peak of LEDs is wider than that of lamps and the peak wavelength can be variably adjusted. This allows for better tuning within the absorption window.

Current LEDs are available at 255 nm, 265 nm, 272 nm and 275 nm. Their optical power per chip ranges up to 100 mW.

265 nm UVC LED

DNA molecules have their absorption maximum at 265 nm. Therefore, this wavelength plays a special role in UVC LEDs for disinfection applications. LEDs with this peak wavelength and a half-width of 11 nm offer the highest disinfection efficiency. For example, at 265 nm and a dose of 0.2 mJ/cm², the concentration of E.Coli bacteria can be reduced to less than 0.01% of the original value (Log4 reduction). This reduction is achieved in less than 1 sec at a power of 100 mW.

At LASER COMPONENTS you can find LEDs with 265nm in different chip sizes and optical powers of 3.5 mW, 15 mW, 22 mW, 50 mW and 105 mW per chip.

255 nm UVC-LED

The very short wavelength of 255 nm is also successful for germicidal LEDs. It corresponds to the peak wavelength of the mercury vapor lamps historically used for UVC disinfection (254.3 nm). However, the peak of the LED is much broader and matches the DNA absorption curve more closely. Rather than for disinfection, this wavelength is used for various analytical applications, such as water analysis, gas or ozone analysis.

Our wide range of chip sizes provides a high diversity of applications. Optical powers per chip are 3.2 mW, 15 m, 20 mW, 45 mW and soon also 70 mW.

Arrays

Due to the rapidly advancing technological development, the performance of UVC LEDs is constantly increasing. This opens up new application possibilities all the time.

Arrays combine several SMD LEDs on one PCB. This compact design facilitates integration and use in your device.