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A 'surface light-emitting micro LED patch' technology has been developed that maximizes the whitening effect by attaching it to the skin.

It is a technology that reduces side effects and effectively suppresses melanin production with less power to evenly increase the whitening effect, and is scheduled to be commercialized early next year.

Reporter Cho Hyung-chan reports.

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Red LED light, which suppresses melanin pigment and has a whitening effect, has been a common technique to expose the light to the skin at intervals of 1 cm or more.

In order to increase the effect, if the voltage is increased to make the LED light stronger, heat is generated, which raises concerns about side effects such as low-temperature burns, and the effectiveness of the treatment has also been questioned.

Researchers at KAIST have developed a 'surface light-emitting micro LED patch' technology that enhances the whitening effect while reducing these side effects.

We created a patch that can be attached to the skin like a mask pack by densely embodying over a thousand LEDs that are 1/100th the thickness of a human hair on a flexible plastic substrate measuring 4cm in width and length.

On top of the LED, a light diffusion layer such as silica that diffuses point-like light evenly is coated, creating a surface luminous effect that scatters light evenly.

Lee Geon-jae / Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST

"It is a prototype that can maximize the surface luminous effect by applying silica spherical materials.

By connecting these things, we were able to develop a skin beauty patch that can create a luminous effect on the entire face.”

In experiments with rats and artificial skin, it was confirmed that the tissue of the experimental group irradiated with the surface-emitting LED patch significantly reduced melanin-producing protein compared to commercial LEDs.

Since it is attached directly to the skin, the light efficiency is maximized with low power consumption, reducing the risk of side effects unlike conventional phototherapy devices.

Lee Jae-hee / Ph.D. student, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, KAIST

"The power consumption is reduced to less than 1/3 compared to the existing lights (commercial LED products), so there is less heat generation, so we were able to solve the problem of low-temperature burns and adverse effects caused by heat."

This technology, published in an international academic journal, will be transferred to a KAIST faculty startup company and will be released as a whitening patch to be applied to the face in March next year.

This is Cho Hyeong-chan from MBC News.

(Video coverage: Jang Woo-chang)