Light emitting diode-based nanosecond ultraviolet light source for fluorescence lifetime measurements

Abstract

A compact pulsed-light source is devised from an InGaN/AlGaN double heterostructure light-emitting diode (LED). The LED emits a 450-nm (blue) light under conventional dc operation below 30 mA. When a current larger than 50 mA is applied, the intensity of the 450-nm light saturates, but that of the 380-nm light due to the InGaN component continues to increase. This phenomenon is utilized to realize a nanosecond ultraviolet (UV) light source. Under repetitive, large current pulsing (frequency=10 kHz, pulse width=4 ns, peak current=2 A), the peak LED emission shifts from 450 to 380 nm. Intense light pulses (peak value=40 mW) of 4-ns duration were generated. To evaluate the potential of the pulsed LED as an excitation source, the fluorescence lifetime of a quinine-sulfate solution was measured. The observed lifetime characteristics agreed well with the generally accepted behavior.