GREEN ISLAND, NY, Dec. 1, 2010 -- Crystal IS Inc., the leading developer of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UVC LEDs), today announced it has been awarded $5M by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The goal of the program is the development of efficient LEDs operating below 275nm for use in water sterilization and numerous other applications of significant interest to the Department of Defense.
"DARPA selected us for this award based upon the performance of our existing 265nm LEDs that leverage our proprietary aluminum nitride (AlN) substrate technology." said Dr. Steven Berger, CEO of Crystal IS. "With the tremendous help provided by DARPA, we believe we will accelerate the development cycle and bring bright, efficient, and long lifetime UVC LEDs to market sooner."
The development will take place at the Crystal IS facility in Green Island, NY and will run in parallel with the company's recently announced effort to produce large diameter AlN substrates.
"To make the project as successful as possible we have assembled a group of expert collaborators," said Dr. Leo Schowalter, CTO and founder of Crystal IS. "These include industrial and university partners and a Cooperative Research Agreement with the Army Research Laboratory, administered by Dr. Wraback. Combined with our own resources this truly represents a world class team"
About Crystal IS
Crystal IS Inc. is the market leader in the commercialization of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UVC LEDs) on aluminum nitride substrates for the cost-effective production of long lasting, energy efficient, water and air purification devices. Visit www.crystal-is.com for more information.
About DARPA
DARPA is the central R&D organization for the Department of Defense (DoD) dedicated to sponsoring revolutionary, high-payoff research and development that maintains the technological superiority of the U.S. military. Visit www.darpa.mil for more information.
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