First Solid-State Vacuum UV Phosphor, Described in
APL-Materials, Promises Smaller, Safer, Longer Lasting, Low Power Lamps for
Industrial Applications
A team of researchers in Japan has developed a solid-state
lamp that emits high-energy ultraviolet (UV) light at the shortest wavelengths
ever recorded for such a device, from 140 to 220 nanometers. This is within the
range of vacuum-UV light -- so named because while light of that energy can
propagate in a vacuum, it is quickly absorbed by oxygen in the air.
This fact makes vacuum UV light extremely useful for
industrial applications from sterilizing medical devices to cleaning
semiconductor substrates because when it strikes oxygen-containing molecules on
a surface, it generates highly reactive oxygen radicals, which can completely
destroy any microbes contaminating that surface.