UV-LED for sterilisation
The laboratory has built up a considerable expertise in this field over the last ten years. This is a highly competitive field, with sustained international R&D activity (particularly in South-East Asia, USA and Europe) in the short wavelength range. The main semiconductor materials developed, (Al,Ga)N and (Zn,Mg)O, cover a very wide spectral range from 360 nm to 172 nm. In particular, we are targeting wavelengths in the so-called “deep UV”, i.e. between 220 nm and 270 nm, for water purification and surface disinfection applications (obtained by modifying the DNA of viruses/bacteria through UV irradiation). However, the energy efficiency of UV LEDs is still unsatisfactory, at just a few percent at most. In order to achieve performance beyond this state-of-the-art, we are developing various approaches to improve both the structural and optical properties of materials, carrier injection efficiency, and photon extraction efficiency.
Alloys of aluminum and gallium nitride (AlxGa1-xN) enable emission in the UV-C range (i.e. at wavelengths below 280 nm). These wavelengths are used to eradicate viruses and bacteria. AlxGa1-xN LED technology will lead to the development of efficient and non-polluting UV sources.
Ongoing projects :
- Labex GANEX projet APOGEE "Ingénierie de Matériaux Nitrures et Procédés Technologiques pour LEDs UVC (2020-2025) :
Partners LETI (Grenoble), L2C (Montpellier), UMI-GT (Metz)
- ANR PRCE DOPALGAN «Ingénierie de dopage de type p des Matériaux AlGaN » (2023-2027) :
public-private collaborative project with L2C (Montpellier) and RIBER SA compagny (Bezons).
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