HKUST Develops More Efficient Disinfection Method with Ultraviolet LED
Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have discovered a novel way to enhance the efficiency of the ultraviolet (UVC) light-emitting diode (LED) disinfection technique, and developed a closet that could kill 99.99% of the bacteria and viruses on the garment inside within a minute. The closet is now in use at three special schools under Po Leung Kuk.
UVC is widely used for disinfecting purposes in private and public facilities, but the light source of existing UVC disinfection products is mainly mercury lamps, which not only have lower germicidal efficiency, but are also bulkier with a much shorter lifespan than the LED light. Moreover, mercury lamp has a longer disinfection cycle and requires time for warming up while LED emits light instantly. Since last year, over 140 nations, including US, EU, China, Japan and Australia, have implemented a treaty on gradually phasing out the use of toxic mercury in commercial and industrial processes.
However, despite LED light’s superiority over its mercury-based counterpart, it is not yet widely adopted in sterilization products due to its narrow beam angle and low output efficiency with traditional single-layer reflector. Now, Prof. Ricky LEE Shi-Wei, Chair Professor of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Electronic Packaging Laboratory at HKUST, offered a solution with the stacked silicon reflector developed by his team. Through its unique structure and optical design, this new reflector has not only nearly doubled the UVC output efficiency from 50% to over 90%, but has also extended the sterilization distance by more than 5 times to 26cm, while simultaneously achieving uniform radiation.
Funded by the Innovation and Technology Commission under the Public Sector Trial Scheme for Coronavirus Disease 2019, HKUST has built a disinfection closet using this new UVC LED packaging technology. In collaboration with Po Leung Kuk, the closet is now being trialed in three of its special schools.
Mr. LAM Kwok-Wai, Principal of Po Leung Kuk Yu Lee Mo Fan Memorial School which has participated in the scheme, said Po Leung Kuk was very pleased about this collaboration. “The closet is an effective tool which not only greatly enhances disinfection efficiency, reduces our staff’s workloads, but also safeguards the health and safety of our staff and students during the pandemic. Prof. Lee’s team has been very attentive to our practical needs since the design stage and has added partitions to the closet so that garments, students’ items and toys can be sanitized simultaneously in just one minute,” he said, adding that Po Leung Kuk expects the continued partnership by extending this innovative technology to other dormitories and service units under the group, so as to benefit more people in need.
Prof. Lee said, "We are happy to see that our research work can help make an impact on people’s daily lives. We will continue to explore new areas of applications for our technology, such as self-cleansing air purifiers and air conditioners, water dispensers or sweeping robots. We look forward to more collaborations with the industry on developing larger scale UVC LED products."
Prof. Lee is a world renowned expert in electronics and LED packaging. He has dedicated his career to advancing microelectronics and optoelectronic devices such as LED lights. In 2009, the MTR replaced its train carriage lighting system with the High Brightness Light Emitting Diode (HD-LED) Solid State Lighting (SSL) modules developed by Prof. Lee and his team, which was widely recognized for its benefits over traditional fluorescent tubes in terms of energy and cost efficiency as well as environmental friendliness.
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About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (www.ust.hk) is a world-class research intensive university that focuses on science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. HKUST offers an international campus, and a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy to nurture well-rounded graduates with global vision, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. HKUST attained the highest proportion of internationally excellent research work in the Research Assessment Exercise 2014 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee, and is ranked as the world’s best young university in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2020. Its graduates were ranked 26th worldwide and among the best from universities from Asia in Global University Employability Survey 2020.
(This news was originally published by the HKUST Public Affairs Office here.)
