The Japanese firm, Dowa Electronics Corporation, a subsidiary of Dowa Electronics Co., Ltd., reported that the company has developed a near-infrared chip at the 1,300 nm band. The firm says that the chip is 3.5 times the size of its previous model, which has an output of 6.8 mW. Dowa began offering samples.
Notably, a variety of optical sensors using LEDs have the advantages of compact size, power saving, and long life. Also, near-infrared light with a wavelength range of 800 nm to 2,000 nm can highly permeate living bodies for optical sensor applications including analysis of agricultural crops and foods, as well as applications in health and medicine. Dowa expects that in the healthcare field, the market for such near-infrared LEDs will expand. For example, near-infrared LEDs can be used for sensors that measure blood glucose without blood sampling.
Dowa asserts that the newly developed near-infrared LED chip with a center wavelength of 1,300 nm band greatly increases the light output toward the top surface, which is required for sensor applications. Simultaneously, the near-infrared LED achieves high output, according to Dowa.
The company intends to extend these technologies to produce near-infrared LEDs with central wavelengths of 1,450 nm and 1,650 nm, respectively, thereby expanding its lineup of near-infrared emitters. Dowa says it will continue to focus on improving the performance of its next-generation products and increasing the efficiency of production.
