Abstract—
A capacity‐coupled electrodeless Hg discharge lamp has been developed for LC TV backlightings. By applying sinusoidal voltages which are 180° out of phase with a pair of external electrodes, a luminous uniformity of over 84% is attained in two types of lamps whose lengths are 190 and 390 mm. Luminance, efficacy, and input power to the lamp are 114,000 cd/m2, 35 lm/W, and 21.5 W when the 390‐mm lamp is driven at 5 MHz. With a frequency below 1.1 MHz, eight 390‐mm lamps, connected in parallel to one another without external ballast impedance, can be driven by using a single inverter.