Company Claims Efficient Germicidal UV LEDs; Gets DARPA Funding

Here’s an interesting new technology that might have a wide range of potential clinical applications. Crystal IS, Inc., a company out of Green Island, NY, claims to have developed ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV LEDs) that can be used for germicidal disinfection. The company’s mid-ultraviolet LEDs fabricated from pseudomorphic layers on bulk Aluminum Nitride (AlN) have now attracted the attention of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), that has awarded the company $5M to further the technology for “water sterilization and numerous other applications of significant interest to the Department of Defense.” Previously the company has reported that its 275nm LEDs have an optimal wavelength and enough power to be germicidal in a variety of medias. We’ll be watching this company as its technology could be used in anything from new autoclave machines, to the surgical field and radiology suites.
Product page: UV LEDs …
Press releases: CRYSTAL IS, INC. RECEIVES $5 MILLION DARPA AWARD …; Crystal IS’s proprietary technology shown to be key for commercial LEDs in disinfection applications …