Smart UV systems innovation hub

Initial situation

Does your company want to develop modern, semiconductor-based UV sources or change its product portfolio due to the uncertain extension of the exemption for the operation of mercury vapor lamps? We can help you.

The development of modern, highly efficient UV irradiation systems is a complex task in which many aspects from different disciplines have to be combined if a high-performance product is to be the result of a development process. 

Problem definition

In addition to the characterization of the spectral and spatial radiation characteristics of the radiation sources, their arrangement, the shaping of the radiation field and its homogeneity play a decisive role. In particular, the irradiation of moving media such as air or liquids requires extensive multi-physical simulations and optimization calculations ranging from ray tracing and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) to thermal and chemical aspects.

Due to the high photon energies in the UV range, the composition of polymer materials is also damaged, which can lead to premature failure of the device or the release of undesirable substances.

It is therefore important to assess the material's tolerance to UV radiation. The degradation of harmful chemical compounds such as VOCs and PFAS can be photocatalyzed by UV and used to treat air and water.

The challenge

The development of efficient radiation sources and control electronics with smart functions and AI is a new challenge, especially for complex LED-based systems, which not only requires the actual development of electronics, but also testing for EMC and ESD compatibility in accordance with EU Directive 2014/20/EU.
At the end of development, of course, there is the device or type test. 

Our expertise

We support you with our scientific expertise in the field of UV radiation and our research and development infrastructure.

In addition to radiation generation from conventional UV sources, we have been working for many years on radiation generation using semiconductor-based UV radiation sources (UV LEDs), the development of which has been actively supported.

The focus here is particularly on exploiting the specific advantages offered by these modern radiation sources in application development. More microbiologically efficient wavelengths, greater mechanical robustness, higher radiation intensities, more freedom in the design of the radiation source geometry and fast pulsed operation are just some of the advantages that make them highly interesting and offer enormous opportunities for innovative future applications.

Since 2013, with its membership of the "Advanced UV for Life" research network comprising a total of 50 research institutions and industrial partners, the Fraunhofer Innovation Hub "Smart UV Systems" has developed into a leading institution in the field of research and development of semiconductor-based UV systems.

Der Fraunhofer Innovationshub Smarte UV-Systeme bündelt jahrelange praktische Erfahrung, eine gut ausgestattete Laborinfrastruktur sowie weitreichende Forschungskooperationen mit externen Partnern in einer Hand.

In order to guarantee you the fastest and most efficient product development possible, we offer you our technical expertise and our complete research infrastructure for concept development, multiphysical simulative validation, functional model construction and testing within the framework of industrial research and development as well as national and international collaborative research projects.

Our development offers for you

• Feasibility studies, proof of concept
• Idea development / idea scouting
• Scientific consulting in the field of UV system development
• Concept development
• Multiphysical simulation and optimization
• Hardware and software development for UV systems
• Measurement and testing of UV sources and complete systems
• Device testing and certification