Claims
- 1. A lamp comprising:
a waveguide having a body of preselected dimensions, the body consisting essentially of at least one solid dielectric material and having a surface and a lamp chamber depending from said surface, the body and chamber comprising an integrated structure, the chamber having an aperture at said surface, the body coupled to a source of microwave power having an output and an input and operating at a preselected frequency and intensity, said frequency and intensity and said body dimensions selected such that the body resonates in at least one resonant mode having at least one electric field maximum, the chamber containing a fill consisting essentially of a starting gas and a light emitter, the fill when receiving microwave power at said frequency and intensity, provided by the resonating waveguide body, forming a plasma which emits light.
- 2. The lamp of claim 1, further comprising:
means for depositing the starting gas and light emitter within the chamber; and means for sealing the aperture to the external environment, thereby sealing the chamber to said environment while allowing transmission of light from the chamber.
- 3. The lamp of claim 1, further comprising a bulb disposed within the lamp chamber and containing said fill.
- 4. The lamp of claim 3, further comprising a first (“drive”) probe and a second (“feedback”) probe disposed within said body anywhere except near a minimum of the electric field resulting from the source operating at a frequency such that the body resonates in a single resonant mode, the first probe connected to said source output and the second probe connected to said source input, thereby forming an oscillator configuration maintaining the first probe such that power reflected from the body back to the source is minimized.
- 5. The lamp of claim 3, further comprising a first (“drive”) probe and a second (“feedback”) probe disposed within said body, the source operating at a first frequency such that the body resonates in a relatively higher order resonant mode before the plasma is formed, and at a second frequency such that the body resonates in a relatively lower order resonant mode after the plasma reaches a steady state, the first probe disposed near an electric field minimum of the higher order mode and not near an electric field minimum of the lower order mode, the second probe disposed anywhere except near an electric field minimum of the higher order mode or the lower order mode, the first probe connected to said source output and the second probe connected to said source input, thereby forming an oscillator configuration maintaining the first probe such that power reflected from the body back to the source is minimized both before the plasma is formed and after the plasma reaches said steady state.
- 6. The lamp of claim 3, further comprising a first (“drive”) probe, a second (“feedback”) probe, and a third (“start”) probe disposed within said body anywhere except near a minimum of the electric field resulting from the source operating at a frequency such that the body resonates in a single resonant mode, the first probe connected to said source output, the second probe connected to said source input, and the third probe connected to said source output through a phase shifter and a splitter, thereby forming a configuration maintaining the third probe such that power reflected from the body back to the source is minimized before the plasma is formed, and maintaining the first probe such that power reflected from the body back to the source is minimized after the plasma reaches a steady state.
- 7. The lamp of claim 3, further comprising:
a first (“drive”) probe, a second (“feedback”) probe, and a third (“start”) probe disposed within said body anywhere except near a minimum of the electric field resulting from the source operating at a frequency such that the body resonates in a single resonant mode; and a circulator having interconnected first, second and third ports, the first probe connected to said second port, said first port connected to said source output, the second probe connected to said source input, and said third port connected to the third probe, thereby forming a configuration maintaining the third probe such that power reflected from the body back to the source is minimized before the plasma is formed, and maintaining the first probe such that power reflected from the body back to the source is minimized after the plasma reaches a steady state.
- 8. The lamp of claim 3, further comprising a first (“drive”) probe, a second (“feedback”) probe, and a third (“start”) probe disposed within said body, the source operating at a first frequency such that the body resonates in a relatively higher order resonant mode before the plasma is formed, and at a second frequency such that the body resonates in a relatively lower order resonant mode after the plasma reaches a steady state, the first probe disposed near or at an electric field minimum of the higher order mode and not near an electric field minimum of the lower order mode, the second probe disposed anywhere except near an electric field minimum of the lower order mode or the higher order mode, the third probe disposed anywhere except near an electric field minimum of the higher order mode, the first and third probes connected to said source output through a diplexer which separates said first and second frequencies, the second probe connected to said source input, thereby maintaining the first and third probes such that power reflected from the body back to the source is minimized both before the plasma is formed and after the plasma reaches said steady state.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/809,718, now pending, filed on Mar. 15, 2001 and entitled “Plasma Lamp With Dielectric Waveguide”, which claimed benefit of priority of provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/222,028, filed on Jul. 31, 2000 and entitled “Plasma Lamp”. Application Ser. No. 09/809,718 and No. 60/222,028 are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60222028 |
Jul 2000 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09809718 |
Mar 2001 |
US |
Child |
10356340 |
Jan 2003 |
US |