Florida pushes low-energy light

17 Jun 2002

Uniroyal Optoelectronics joins forces with Florida universities to pioneer energy-saving ultraviolet LEDs.

Ultraviolet Florida is a collaboraton between the optics manufacturer Uniroyal Optoelectronics (UOE) and the universities of Florida, South Florida and Central Florida in the US. Aiming to tackle energy issues, the team's first goal is to develop ultraviolet AlGaInN-based light-emitting-diode (LED) devices.

"Florida holds the center stage in tackling one of the most important issues facing our country today - the shortage of energy," said the Florida State governor Jeb Bush.

"Current estimates suggest that one-third of the world's total energy resources are used to generate light," added a UOE spokesperson. "Solid-state LEDs consume 90% less power than [widely used] incandescent bulbs."

The collaboration will receive funding from a slice of UOE's USD 3.6 million that is provided by the State of Florida to advance research within the company. The University of Florida will focus on epitaxially growing and processing ultraviolet LED devices, while the universities of South and Central Florida will measure and characterize the LED's electrical and optical properties.

"The development of efficient and even shorter wavelength solid-state LEDs is perhaps the most significant technological breakthrough this decade," said Tim Anderson, professor of chemical engineering at Florida University. "This advance should have a broad impact on many technologies and UOE could become a major producer of devices for this market."

UOE is hoping to establish new markets in solid-state white lighting, medical diagnosis, optical storage and compact sensing devices for chemical, environmental and biological applications.