The field of aquatic cultivation for species such as seaweed and microalgae is booming especially in line with the rising demand. Recent reports show new methods to increase the overall production using lighting technologies [1]. The advantages for the use of LEDs in microalgae cultures is increased biomass growth in addition to enhancement of protein and carbohydrate content. Variation in temperature, light and nutrients can affect the growth patterns [2]. Such changes in spectral irradiance can be beneficial in designing LEDs in the Visible (VIS), UV and infrared (IR) wavelengths. In this work, some preliminary studies for light intensity control in the UV and VIS regions are presented. The increase in solar irradiance across visible range from 420-680 nm has been reported to be beneficial to specific microalgae species such as C.vulgaris [3]. In another recent article, the response of different algae species to visible light intensity has been elucidated [4]. A latest review (published on August 22 2022) highlights that ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) intensities promotes protection and repair mechanisms to be induced in microalgae [5].The 365 nm wavelength in the UV-A regime has been reported to induce amino acid components in certain microalgae such as Nitzschia closterium, which can further be translated to other useful products using microalgae.
Modification of the transmission spectrum has potential to increase biomass and nutrition content. It has been reported that with a modified spectrum the quality of the aquatic plants grown using the same amount of light leads to more efficient and optimal use of energy [6]. We present some preliminary results for design of UV-Vis gratings that could act as a modeling reference for the design of tunable gratings for optimizing light irradiance. This could be beneficial for investigating energy efficient case studies for aquatic species pertaining to varying intensities across specific wavelengths.