News: LEDs
27 January 2021
Nichia unveils dual-function LED for general lighting and bacteria disinfection
Nichia Corp of Anan City, Tokushima, Japan has announced a new dual-function LED that provides both white light and high doses of energy geared for the inactivation of various prevalent bacteria.
UV-C and UV-B wavelengths (ranging from ~200–380nm) have long been used for disinfection. However, it has recently been proven that visible light, ranging from ~380–420nm, also has a bacteria disinfection effect.
With the continued surge of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global impact, there is a heightened awareness of cleanliness in all aspects of life, says Nichia. While this certainly applies to viruses, it also applies to various types of bacteria present in daily living environments.
Typical examples of bacteria that cause infections are Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, Escherichia coli (e-coli, O157), which causes food poisoning, continues to plague various parts of the world and remains problematic.
Nichia says that, to assist with the global efforts in reducing these harmful bacteria, it has developed an innovative white LED that is also capable of inactivating bacteria. The new 4.0mm x 3.6mm NF2W585AR-P8 LED has a peak pump emission wavelength of ~405nm, and is a staple of Nichia’s General Lighting portfolio. Nichia says that, through its phosphor and die technology (which has been refined over decades of innovation), it is able to achieve a balance between general white lighting and disinfection bacteria, all out of a single LED.
In tests at the Tokushima Prefectural Industrial Technology Center using a lightbar fixture comprising nine NF2W585AR-P8 LEDs, results indicate an inactivation rate for Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria (at a temperature of 25℃) of 98.9% after 5 hours of irradiation with 380–420nm light from a distance of 40cm (a luminous flux per area of 1000lx, or 0.127mW/cm2).
Nichia envisions this LED will be widely used for environmental hygiene maintenance in food factories, kitchens, hospitals, public facilities and similar applications.
