Lighting system

• US 7,447,249 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2006
• Issued: 11/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Stanley Electric Company Limited
• Inventors: Kanechika, Masayuki, Matsumoto, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Harvey; Minsun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Stafford; Patrick
• Application Number:
  US11/464,325
• Publication Number:
  US 20070041417A1
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• Field of Search: 372/55, 372/72, 372/82, 372/92, 372/64
• US Class Current: 372/72
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 65/044 the field being produced by a separate microwave unit
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0975 using inductive or capacitive excitation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/2232 Carbon dioxide (CO2) or monoxide [CO]

Abstract

A lighting system includes a microwave resonator (2) for generating a standing microwave in the internal space, and a gas cell (6) enclosing a medium is disposed in the internal space of the microwave resonator 2. The lighting system excites the medium in the gas cell (6) by the standing microwave to generate light. The gas cell (6) is replaceably mounted on the microwave resonator (2). The generated light is output to the outside of the microwave resonator (2) through a light lead-out hole (26). Thereby, it is possible to provide a lighting system (including a gas laser) capable of emitting light efficiently with a compact and inexpensive device configuration and of achieving a long life. Moreover, it can also be used as a lighting system in the THz-wave region by enclosing the medium for generating light in the far-infrared region in the gas cell (6).

Claims

1. A lighting system for generating light by exciting a medium such as gas or vapor, comprising:

a microwave resonator having an internal space for generating a standing microwave;

a microwave supply means for supplying the microwave into the internal space of the microwave resonator; and

a gas cell enclosing the medium and disposed in the internal space of the microwave resonator,

wherein the microwave generated by the microwave resonator is a standing wave of a linearly-polarized wave;

wherein the gas cell is disposed in a position corresponding to a maximum electric field strength of the standing wave in the internal space of the microwave resonator or in the vicinity thereof, and in a direction parallel to the direction of the linearly-polarized wave, and

the light is generated by exciting the medium in the gas cell using the standing microwave of the linearly-polarized wave generated in the internal space of the microwave resonator and wherein the generated light is output to the outside of the microwave resonator through a light lead-out hole provided in the microwave resonator.

2. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the gas cell is provided in a plural number and the gas cells are disposed in positions corresponding to the maximum electric field strength of the standing wave in the internal space of the microwave resonator or in the vicinity of the positions, with being spaced from each other in the central axis direction of the internal space.

3. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the gas cell is provided in a plural number and the gas cells are disposed in a line on a cross section of the internal space of the microwave resonator in positions corresponding to the maximum electric field strength of the standing wave in the internal space or in the vicinity of the positions.

4. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the microwave resonator has at least one short plate for adjusting a cavity length, which is the length of the internal space in the traveling direction of the standing microwave.

5. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the gas cell is replaceably mounted on the microwave resonator.

6. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the microwave supply means includes a microwave oscillator for outputting at least the microwave and an isolator interposed between the microwave oscillator and the microwave resonator, wherein the microwave supply means supplies the microwave resonator with the output from the microwave oscillator via the isolator.

7. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein a laser resonator for resonating the light generated in the gas cell and oscillating the laser beam is mounted on the microwave resonator and the light lead-out hole is made in the microwave resonator on the optical axis of the laser beam.

8. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the light lead-out hole is made in the microwave resonator in a position opposite the gas cell.

9. The lighting system according to claim 8, wherein a reflective coating layer that reflects the light generated in the gas cell is formed on an outer surface of the gas cell except for one end.

10. The lighting system according to claim 8, wherein a condenser lens for condensing the light output through the light lead-out hole to the outside of the microwave resonator is mounted on the microwave resonator in the place of the light lead-out hole.

11. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the medium is of the type of generating light in the far-infrared region.

12. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the microwave generated by the microwave resonator is a standing wave of a linearly-polarized wave in which two opposing surfaces inside the microwave resonator are the only reflecting surfaces where the node of the standing wave is present.

13. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein only one microwave supply means is provided.

14. The lighting system according to claim 12, wherein the microwave generated by the microwave resonator is a standing wave of a linearly-polarized wave having node at the two opposing surfaces inside the microwave resonator and at a median center thereof.

15. The lighting system according to claim 12, wherein the electric field of the microwave generated by the microwave resonator is a TE₁₀₂ mode.

16. The lighting system according to claim 1, wherein the gas cell is disposed in a position, or in the vicinity thereof, a distance of (λ

g/2)·

(n+(½

) ) (n;

0 or greater integer) from the position corresponding to zero electric field strength of the standing microwave at one end of the internal space of the microwave resonator, where μ

g is a guide wavelength as the wavelength of the standing microwave in the internal space of the microwave resonator.