Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) has been awarded a project titled 'Development of UVLED Device Fabrication and Application Technologies' under the Ministry of Education's 2013 Regional Innovation Human Resources Development Project.

The Regional Innovation Human Resources Development Project supports collaborative technology-development projects between local companies and universities to train regional students as a workforce tailored to local and field needs.

Through this project, JBNU will develop UVLEDs for sterilization and disinfection over three years and pursue commercialization. The developed devices will be widely used not only for sterilization and disinfection but also for deodorization, medical and bio applications, and counterfeit detection.

Blue, green, and white LEDs using nitride-based semiconductors have created diverse markets such as traffic signals and various lighting applications. In contrast, research on UVLEDs with wavelengths below 400 nm is almost nonexistent domestically. Technologically, the country is more than two years behind advanced nations, and there is a severe shortage of specialized personnel.

The JBNU research team (Professors Hyun-Soo Kim, Chang-Hee Hong and Eun-Kyung Seo) aims to develop 365 nm and 380 nm UVLEDs in the UVA (long-wavelength ultraviolet) band, which have the greatest commercial impact. In particular, in collaboration with partner company Odetec Co., Ltd., they plan to develop prototypes of UVLEDs for sterilization/disinfection and curing.

Alongside research and development, the project will train 24 undergraduate, master's and doctoral students as UVLED specialists over three years. The program will dispatch three students annually to partner companies and actively support employment so that the trained specialists can be hired by partner firms or related local companies.

Professor Hyun-Soo Kim (Department of Semiconductor Science and Technology), who serves as the Principal Investigator (PI), said, 'UVLEDs are technically superior light sources compared with conventional mercury UV lamps: they are more stable, consume less power, generate less heat, have lifespans 10–50 times longer, and can be miniaturized.' He added, 'The market is growing at 43% annually and is expected to reach 3 trillion won by 2017; developing UVLEDs through this research will aid commercialization and greatly assist in training specialized personnel, including student employment.'