Toyoda Gosei Develops UV-C LED with World-Class Light Output

Compared with mercury lamps, UV-C LEDs are environmentally-friendly as it is mercury-free, more compact, and have a longer life. These advantages promoted their wide use in devices for disinfecting air and surfaces during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since they differ from lighting LEDs in composition, however, light output has been still limited. For water purification plants and other situations where high disinfection performance is needed, mercury lamps are still used.

Toyoda Gosei has leveraged its expertise in crystallization and design of blue LEDs for lighting, and successfully developed UV-C LEDs that achieve light output at the level of 200 milliwatts with a single chip when driven by a current of 350 milliamperes. Improvement of the LED structure and composition quadrupled the amount of light that can be extracted. Enhanced LED performance including disinfecting capability of about three times higher will expand their applicable areas including a future alternative to mercury lamps, contributing to more hygienic and safer living.

_{1 As of March 31, 2024. Toyoda Gosei survey}

_{2 Sample sales start in Japan, China, and South Korea in April 2024. Successive starts are planned for other regions.}

_{3 Reduction Equivalent UV Dose is an indicator of disinfection performance}

_{4 Expected performances also depend on disinfection device specifications and conditions}