UV LED curing refers to a technique that uses “energy” output from the light emitting diodes (LEDs) in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum to treat coatings, adhesives, inks and other UV-curable materials. The energy generated by the UV light triggers a chain reaction, resulting in polymerization of the wet raw material, thus hardening (or curing) the material (see Figure 1).
UV LED curing technology uses semiconductor-based LEDs to project UV light when an electric current is passed through them. When an LED is forward-biased, electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device, thus releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light emitted, or the corresponding energy of the photon, is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor material.