Luminus breaks $0.10 per mW barrier for UVC LEDs
Enables the large-scale deployment of UVC LEDs in disinfection applications and accelerates the displacement of mercury lamps
Luminus Devices, a US start-up that uses technology originated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has announced the availability of its newest UVC LED, the XBT-3535, with performance ranging from 50 mW to 80 mW in the 275-285 nm range.
According to the company, the price-performance combination of the XBT-3535 will allow companies to quickly bring novel and affordable disinfection and sterilisation solutions to market.
The germicidal effectiveness of UVC LEDs against E-coli, MRSA and a variety of pathogens has been well documented. UVC LEDs with wavelengths less than 280 nm are shown to be as or more effective than mercury lamps for disinfection and sterilisation. However, performance, cost, and lifetime have been, in some combination, the factors slowing adoption of UVC LEDs.
“Luminus’ mission is to improve people’s health and wellness by making LED based disinfection technology universally affordable in healthcare, water- and air-purification applications,” said Murali Kumar, director of specialty marketing. “Our latest devices, like the new XBT-3535 from Luminus, now have median lifetimes well in excess of 10,000 hours at nominal operating conditions, their increased power output minimises the number of LEDs required in a system, and pricing in volume has been reduced to a level below $0.10/mW. The convergence of these three factors makes the large-scale deployment of UVC LEDs practical and accelerates the phase-out of lamps containing harmful substances such as mercury.”
