New Deep-UV LEDs from Sandia Labs

Sandia Labs has just announced two shortwave-UV LEDs. Wow.
I want one! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

http://optics.org/articles/news/9/11/14/1

This deep-UV stuff showing up in flashlights actually kind of scares me. Someone is going to hurt their eyes, or other people's eyes, with those things sooner or later.

I also don't understand why UV isn't subject to line-of-sight for communications (per the article) like ordinary wavelengths are.

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paulr said:
This deep-UV stuff showing up in flashlights actually kind of scares me. Someone is going to hurt their eyes, or other people's eyes, with those things sooner or later.

I also don't understand why UV isn't subject to line-of-sight for communications (per the article) like ordinary wavelengths are.

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They're still fairly low power, only a milliwatt or so. Still, you could do some damage if you stared at it, although no more than staring at a portable shortwave fluorescent lamp.

As far as the communications goes, I'm wondering about that also. Maybe they're relying on atmospheric scattering?

Well, they aren't "shortwave", but they are "medium wave" and they are the shortest wavelength created in an LED to date, so I put a link to this Sandia article on my UV LEDs page. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thank you!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

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The LED Museum said:
Well, they aren't "shortwave", but they are "medium wave" and they are the shortest wavelength created in an LED to date, so I put a link to this Sandia article on my UV LEDs page. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thank you!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

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Thanks for the clarification, Craig. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif