High-power UV LEDs target UV-curing for industrial apps

I’ve seen UV disinfecting wands at Costco and wondered why they don’t use HB LEDs as their UV source. HB LEDs are more rugged and can be a more compact light source than lamps. What gives?

It turns out that to act as a disinfecting energy, UV radiation needs wavelengths in the 250nm range, and it’s very hard to make LEDs in that wavelength. Where UV LEDs are coming on strong, though, is for UV curing at 390 nm in industrial processes using UV-cured epoxies, inks, paints, laminates and adhesives. This is the market Luminus is targeting with its new UV CBT-120. UV curing requires lots of UV photons, and Luminus’s PhlatLight technology excels as a large-area LED light source. The UV CBT-120 has a power density of 1 W/mm² with a light energy output of 10W at 390 nm.