Corning Incorporated
LIGHT DIFFUSING MULTI-FIBER DESIGN CONFIGURED FOR USE WITH UV LEDS

Abstract:

Disclosed herein are embodiments of an ultraviolet (UV) illumination system. The UV illumination system includes at least one UV light emitting diode (LED) and a light-diffusing optical fiber bundle. The light-diffusing optical fiber bundle includes a bundle jacket and a plurality of optical fibers disposed within the bundle jacket. Each optical fiber is made up of a glass core having a glass composition with less than 90 mol % silica and a cladding surrounding the glass core. At least one of the glass core or the cladding includes scattering centers. Further, the light-diffusing optical fiber bundle is optically coupled to the UV LED. Also disclosed herein are a UV light-diffusing fiber and a method of sterilizing an object using a UV illumination system contain a UV light-diffusing fiber.