Dec 4 2010
Crystal IS, a company specializing in ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UVC LEDs), has declared that it has received a $5 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The DARPA fund will be used to develop LEDs, which can function at a range of less than 275 nm for applications including water sterilization and a variety of defense-oriented applications.
The Chief Executive Officer at Crystal IS, Steven Berger said that DARPA has awarded the fund based on the success of the company’s 265nm LEDs, which use a patented aluminum nitride substrate technology. He further said that the company would bring the 275nm UVC LEDs to the market as early as possible with DARPA’s help.
The development of 275 nm UVC LEDs will occur at the company’s facility located in Green Island, New York. The company will also develop the large-diameter aluminum nitride substrates in the same facility.
Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Crystal IS, Leo Schowalter commented that the company has formed a consortium of experts, which include universities and industrialists. The company has also signed a cooperative research deal with the Army Research Laboratory, he added.