Apparatus and a method for operating a sealed beam lamp containing an ionizable medium

• US 9,922,814 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2016
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Excelitas Technologies Corporation (Excelitas Technologies Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: Excelitas Technologies Corporation (Excelitas Technologies Holdings LLC)
• Inventors: Blondia, Rudi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ippolito, Nicole
• Application Number:
  US15/232,161
• Publication Number:
  US 20160351383A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 2504931
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/025 Associated optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/16 having helium, argon, neon, krypton, or xenon as the principle constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/24 Means for obtaining or maintaining the desired pressure within the vessel
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/26 Means for absorbing or adsorbing gas, e.g. by gettering; Means for preventing blackening of the envelope
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/30 Vessels; Containers
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/33 Special shape of cross-section, e.g. for producing cool spot
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/35 provided with coatings on the walls thereof; Selection of materials for the coatings using coloured coatings H01J61/40; using luminescent coatings H01J61/42
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/361 Seals between parts of vessel
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/54 Igniting arrangements, e.g. promoting ionisation for starting
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 61/547 using an auxiliary electrode outside the vessel H01J61/544 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 65/04 Lamps in which a gas filling is excited to luminesce by an external electromagnetic field or by external corpuscular radiation, e.g. for indicating plasma display panels
• CPC Class Codes: H05G 2/008 involving a beam of energy, e.g. laser or electron beam in the process of exciting the plasma

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for operating a sealed beam lamp containing an ionizable medium are disclosed. The lamp includes a sealed chamber, a pair of ignition electrodes, a substantially flat chamber ingress window, and a laser light source disposed outside the chamber producing laser light. Laser light is focused to a first focal region coinciding with an ignition region disposed between the ignition electrodes. The ionizable medium at the ignition region is ignited with the laser. The laser light is focused to a second focal region coinciding with a plasma sustaining region not co-located with the plasma ignition region.

Claims

1. A method for operating a sealed beam lamp containing an ionizable medium, the lamp comprising a sealed chamber, a pair of ignition electrodes, a substantially flat chamber ingress window, a laser light source disposed outside the chamber producing laser light, comprising the steps of:

focusing the laser light to a first focal region coinciding with an ignition region disposed between the ignition electrodes;

igniting the ionizable medium at the ignition region with the laser; and

focusing the laser light to a second focal region coinciding with a plasma sustaining region not co-located with the plasma ignition region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the laser light focus is adjustable in a first axis.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the laser light focus is adjustable in a second axis.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the laser light focus is adjustable in a third axis.

5. A sealed high intensity illumination system comprising:

a laser light source disposed externally to a sealed chamber and configured to direct a laser light beam directly into the sealed chamber;

the sealed chamber configured to contain an ionizable medium, the chamber further comprising;

a substantially flat ingress window disposed within a wall of an integral reflective chamber interior surface configured to admit the laser beam into the chamber;

a first laser light focal region of the laser light source;

a second laser light focal region of the laser light source;

a high intensity light egress window configured to emit high intensity light from the chamber;

the integral reflective chamber interior surface configured to reflect high intensity light from the second laser light focal region to the egress window; and

a viewing window disposed within the wall of the integral reflective chamber interior surface.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein a path of the laser beam from the laser light source through the ingress window to the first and second laser light focal region within the chamber is direct.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising a controller comprising a processor and a memory containing non-transient instructions that, when executed by the processor, are configured to provide adjustable beam profiling of the laser light source.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller is feedback controlled.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to adjust a laser focusing means along a path between the first laser light focal region and the second laser light focal ignition region.

10. The system of claim 5, wherein the viewing window is configured to provide a visual path to at least one of the first laser light focal region and the second laser light focal region from outside the sealed chamber.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a controller configured to provide adjustable beam profiling.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising tracking means to track the location of the plasma via the viewing window.

13. The sealed high intensity illumination device of claim 5, wherein the first laser light focal region is disposed between a first ignition electrode and a second ignition electrode, and the second laser light focal region is not co-located with the plasma ignition region.

14. The sealed high intensity illumination device of claim 13, further comprising means for relocating the lens focal region from the first laser light focal region to the second laser light focal region.

15. The sealed high intensity illumination device of claim 14, wherein the lens focal region is adjustable in a first axis.

16. The sealed high intensity illumination device of claim 15, wherein the lens focal region is adjustable in a second axis.

17. The sealed high intensity illumination device of claim 16, wherein the lens focal region is adjustable in a third axis.