OSRAM Opto Semiconductors said it was leading a government funded research group to jointly develop a high-power, mass market-oriented ultraviolet (UV) led chip. Ultraviolet light can be used in various applications, such as curing (drying), disinfection, production, medicine and life sciences. Traditional non LED light sources, such as mercury vapor lamps, have certain potential hazards. Moreover, many UV LED chips on the market emit light at some useful wavelengths without cost advantage.OSRAM said: "the goal of our cooperation is to provide high-power UV LEDs to cover various applications." these LEDs will eventually replace the traditional UV light source containing mercury. "OSRAM said that the new high-power chip "may also open up new application fields."

UV is an emerging field for LED manufacturers. Suppliers include rayvio, Nikkiso, vital vio, sensor electronic technology, LG Innotek, etc.The research group led by OSRAM is funded by the German Federal Ministry of education and Research (BMBF). It hopes to develop a prototype with a wavelength of about 250nm to 310nm by 2020, covering some UV-B and UV-C spectra.Generally, the range of ultraviolet light is about 100 nm to about 380 or 400 nm. It is the short wave invisible part of the spectrum.

OSRAM released a photo of a UV LED chip under development. The photo comes from Ferdinand Braun Institut, Leibniz Institut fur hochstfrequenztechnik (FBH) of Leibniz Federation in Germany.One of the challenges is to improve the efficiency of UV-B and UV-C spectra, which requires a breakthrough in materials and extends applications other than UV-A curing. The team led by OSRAM is using gallium aluminum nitride (AlGaN) material system.In addition to OSRAM, the other four research groups are: Ferdinand Braun Institut, Leibniz Institut fur hochstfrequenztechnik (FBH)); Berlin Institute of technology; LayTec AG； And FBH split uvphotonics NT GmbH.

OSRAM is responsible for the range of 270-290-nm, FBH processes the epitaxy in the range of 290-310nm, and processes the epitaxial wafer into the UV chip; Berlin Polytechnic University has expertise in AlGaN field, focusing on the range of 250-270 nm; Laytec provides technology for controlling epitaxial and plasma etching systems; FBH optimized chip design, focusing on high current and efficient cooling. In addition, it collects process data from other partners and provides it to the research team.OSRAM said: "the light output of the new LED is expected to exceed 120 MW at 300 ± 10 nm, 140 MW at 280 ± 10 nm and 80 MW at 260 ± 10 nm." the research team is also making significant improvements to the aging behavior of LEDs so that they can operate longer and more economically. "