Microplasma lighting: Microcavity plasma arrays for future lighting applications

Recently, demands for the next generation lighting sources having higher efficiency and a low carbon footprint has soared. To that end we have pursued the development and commercialization of microplasma arrays capable of producing visible emission with high luminous efficacy. Technology originally demonstrated in the Laboratory for Optical Physics and Engineering at the University of Illinois has recently advanced to the point of yield thin planar lamps having active areas of at least 200 cm² and producing a white luminance above 10000 cd/m². This new lighting technology is lightweight, below a few mm in thickness, and offers considerable versatility with respect to form factor. In addition to producing light levels, suitable for illumination applications, microplasma arrays provide an environment-friendly, mercury-free lighting source having an expected lifetime of tens of thousands of hours. The technical development of flat lights sources based on microplasma technology and the device performance of various microcavity structures which can generate unique form factors for the future lighting applications will be presented.