High frequency excitation waveform for efficient operation of a xenon excimer dielectric barrier discharge lamp

Abstract

The application of a high frequency (∼2.5 MHz) burst (amplitude-modulated sinusoidal) excitation voltage waveform is investigated for driving a fluorescent dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) light source. The excitation waveform presents a novel method for generating spatially stable homogeneous Xe DBD possessing a high conversion efficiency from electrical energy to VUV excimer radiation (∼172 nm), even at a significantly higher electrical energy deposition than realized by pulsed excitation. Simulation and experimental results predict discharge efficiencies around 60%. Lamp efficacy above 74 lm W−1 has been achieved. VUV emission and loss mechanisms are investigated extensively and the performance of burst and pulsed waveforms is compared both theoretically and experimentally.

Numerical investigation of the effect of driving voltage pulse shapes on the characteristics of low-pressure argon dielectric barrier discharge

“…In the recent years, the study of DBDs has received much attention on account of their many potential industrial applications, including industrial ozone production [2,3], plasma coating [4,5], the treatment of polymers [6,7], sterilization of surfaces and materials [8,9], thin-film deposition [10,11], the cleaning and activation of substrates [12,13], excitation of CO 2 lasers [14,15], excimer lamps [16,17], pollution control [18,19], and large-area flat plasma display panels [20,21].…”