Deep UV can effectively inactivate coronavirus

 Ultraviolet disinfection is an ancient and well-established method. Sun-drying quilts are the most primitive use of ultraviolet rays to remove mites, disinfection, and sterilization.

USB Charger UVC Sterilizer Light

 Compared with chemical sterilization, UV has the advantage of high sterilization efficiency, inactivation is generally completed within a few seconds, and does not produce other chemical pollutants. Because it is easy to operate and can be applied to all spaces, UV germicidal lamps have become a popular item in major e-commerce platforms. In the first-line medical and health institutions, it is also important sterilization equipment.

Deep UV LED, a foreseeable emerging industry

To achieve effective sterilization and disinfection by ultraviolet rays, certain requirements must be met. Pay attention to the wavelength, dose, and time of the ultraviolet light source. That is, it must be deep ultraviolet light in the UVC band with a wavelength below 280nm and must meet a certain dose and time for different bacteria and viruses, otherwise, it cannot be inactivated.

According to the wavelength division, the ultraviolet band can be divided into different UVA, UVB, UVC bands. UVC is the band with the shortest wavelength and the highest energy. In fact, for sterilization and disinfection, the most effective one is UVC, which is called the deep ultraviolet band.

The use of deep ultraviolet LEDs to replace traditional mercury lamps, the application of disinfection, and sterilization are similar to the application of white LEDs to replace traditional light sources in the field of lighting, which will form a huge emerging industry. If the deep ultraviolet LED realizes the replacement of the mercury lamp, it means that in the next ten years, the deep ultraviolet industry will develop into a new trillion industry like LED lighting.

Deep UV LEDs are widely used in civil fields such as water purification, air purification, and biological detection. In addition, the application of the ultraviolet light source is far more than sterilization and disinfection. It also has broad prospects in many emerging fields such as biochemical detection, sterilization medical treatment, polymer curing, and industrial photocatalysis.

Deep UV LED technology innovation is still on the way

Although the prospects are bright, it is undeniable that DUV LEDs are still in the early stages of development, and the optical power, luminous efficiency, and lifespan are not satisfactory, and products such as UVC-LED need to be further improved and mature.

Although the industrialization of deep ultraviolet LEDs faces various challenges, the technology has been advancing.

Last May, the world’s first mass-production line with an annual output of 30 million high-power ultraviolet LED chips was officially put into production in Luan, Zhongke, realizing large-scale industrialization of LED chip technology and localization of core devices.

With the advancement of technology, interdisciplinarity, and integration of applications, new application fields are constantly being promoted, and standards need to be constantly improved. “Existing UV standards are based on traditional mercury lamps. At present, UV LED light sources urgently need a series of standards from testing to application.

In terms of deep ultraviolet sterilization and disinfection, standardization does face a series of challenges. For example, the ultraviolet mercury lamp sterilization is mainly at 253.7nm, while the UVC LED wavelength is mainly distributed at 260-280nm, which brings a series of differences for subsequent application solutions.

The new coronary pneumonia epidemic has popularized the public’s understanding of ultraviolet sterilization and disinfection, and will undoubtedly promote the development of the ultraviolet LED industry. At present, people in the industry are convinced of this and believe that the industry is facing opportunities for rapid development. In the future, the development of the deep ultraviolet LED industry will require the unity and cooperation of upstream and downstream parties to make this “cake” bigger.