While it has long been known that ultraviolet (UV) light can help kill disease-causing pathogens, the COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on how these technologies can rid environments of germs. However, the excimer lamps and LEDs that can directly emit light in the required deep-UV wavelengths generally have low efficiency or suffer from short lifetimes. Moreover, UV light of the wrong wavelength can actually be harmful to human cells.
SEM image of fabricated polarity inverted AlN waveguide. Credit: Hiroto Honda"Our new fabrication method for deep-UV light generation borrows techniques from semiconductor processing, which allows for precise control of the orientation of the aluminum-nitride crystal. This was difficult to achieve in the past," explains lead author Hiroto Honda.
The wavelength of UV light created by the prototype device is within a very narrow range that has enough energy to kill germs but remains mostly harmless to humans. "The results of our project help show that compactness and efficiency is possible for deep-UV disinfection tools, without sacrificing human safety," says senior author Ryuji Katayama. The researchers hope to refine this method to produce commercial devices that consume less energy than previous options.
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