JP3043564B2 - Dielectric barrier discharge lamp device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to, for example,
The present invention relates to improvement of a vacuum ultraviolet light source used for surface cleaning, sterilization, and the like. In particular, a so-called dielectric barrier discharge lamp that forms excimer molecules by dielectric barrier discharge and uses light emitted from the excimer molecules was used. The present invention relates to an improvement in a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a technique related to the present invention, there is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2-7353, in which a discharge vessel is filled with a discharge gas for forming excimer molecules, and a dielectric material is filled. Excimer molecules are formed by barrier discharge (also known as ozonizer discharge or silent discharge; see the revised edition of the “Discharge Handbook” published by the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan, reprinted in June 2001, page 263), and the light emitted from the excimer molecules is extracted. A radiator, a dielectric barrier discharge lamp, is described. That is, a discharge space is formed by providing two light-transmitting dielectrics such as quartz glass plates facing each other, and the discharge space is filled with a rare gas, deuterium or a mixed gas of a rare gas and a halogen, A configuration / method is known in which an electrode is provided on a surface of the two dielectrics not facing the discharge space, and an AC voltage is applied to the electrode to generate a silent discharge in the discharge space and emit ultraviolet rays. ing. As the dielectric, sapphire, magnesium fluoride, calcium fluoride and the like are known in addition to quartz glass. Dielectric barrier discharge lamps using the above-mentioned rare gas as a discharge gas are not available in conventional low-pressure mercury discharge lamps or high-pressure arc discharge lamps, such as high-efficiency vacuum ultraviolet rays and a high degree of freedom in the shape of the discharge vessel. It is useful because it has various features. However, the dielectric barrier discharge lamp as described above emits very little visible light, and it is somewhat difficult to visually recognize that the lamp is lit. Therefore, despite the fact that the dielectric barrier discharge lamp is operated at a high power supply voltage or emits high-energy ultraviolet rays, it is inconvenient to check the lighting state of the lamp, or the lamp being lit There was a problem with safety, such as touching

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device which can easily visually recognize that the lamp is lit, and therefore has high safety. is there.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a discharge vessel filled with a gas which forms excimer by at least a dielectric barrier discharge, and a method for performing a dielectric barrier discharge using the gas as a discharge gas. A dielectric barrier discharge lamp having electrodes and a dielectric barrier discharge lamp for extracting ultraviolet excimer light generated by the dielectric barrier discharge; and a power supply device for performing the dielectric barrier discharge. By detecting light, its
This is achieved by providing means for displaying the lighting state of the dielectric barrier discharge lamp based on the result of the detection . Further, at least a discharge vessel filled with a gas that forms an excimer by a dielectric barrier discharge and an electrode for performing a dielectric barrier discharge using the gas as a discharge gas are generated by the dielectric barrier discharge. In a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device including a dielectric barrier discharge lamp that extracts ultraviolet excimer light and a power supply device for performing the dielectric barrier discharge, by detecting the ultraviolet excimer light , based on the detection result, Means are provided for recognizing the lighting state of the dielectric barrier discharge lamp, and means for automatically shutting off the voltage applied to the dielectric barrier discharge lamp when the dielectric barrier discharge lamp is recognized to be off. This is achieved by: Further, as a means for detecting the ultraviolet excimer light, the photocathode includes Cs-Te, Cs-I, Mg.
, Cd, Sn, K, Au, K-Br, Ag, a kind selected from among photocells, or
The object of the present invention can be further achieved by using a means characterized by using a phosphor that emits by the ultraviolet excimer light.

[0005]

The dielectric barrier discharge lamp operates at a high power supply voltage of several kV at a high frequency of several tens of kHz and emits remarkably visible light despite emitting high-energy ultraviolet rays. Due to the small number, it is difficult to visually recognize that the lamp is lit, it is difficult to confirm the lighting state of the lamp, and there is a problem in safety such as touching the lit lamp. The present inventors have conducted various studies on means for checking the lighting state of the lamp, and as a result, in a method for detecting an electrical characteristic for detecting a lamp current and the like performed in a conventional arc discharge lamp device, They discovered that it was not possible to reliably check the lighting status of the lamp. That is, the dielectric barrier discharge lamp is several kHz.
Since the dielectric barrier discharge lamp is turned off for any reason because of operation at a high power supply voltage of several kV at the above high frequency, dielectric breakdown between wires connecting the lamp and the power supply, etc., may occur. Since the current flows, the dielectric barrier discharge lamp becomes the same state as the lighting state, and it becomes impossible to confirm the lighting state of the lamp, which is extremely dangerous. That is, it has been found that in the dielectric barrier discharge lamp, it is optimal to detect the ultraviolet rays emitted by the dielectric barrier discharge lamp in order to reliably recognize the lighting state.

[0006] At least a discharge vessel filled with a gas forming excimer by dielectric barrier discharge, an electrode for performing dielectric barrier discharge using the gas as a discharge gas, and an ultraviolet ray generated by the dielectric barrier discharge. In a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device including a dielectric barrier discharge lamp having a window member for extracting excimer light, and a power supply device for performing the dielectric barrier discharge, the dielectric barrier discharge lamp detects the ultraviolet excimer light. By providing means for displaying the lighting state of the discharge lamp, the lighting state of the dielectric barrier discharge lamp can be reliably recognized, and a safe dielectric barrier discharge lamp device can be obtained.

Further, a discharge vessel filled with a gas forming excimer by at least a dielectric barrier discharge, an electrode for performing a dielectric barrier discharge using the gas as a discharge gas, and an electrode generated by the dielectric barrier discharge A dielectric barrier discharge lamp having a window member for extracting the ultraviolet excimer light, and a power supply device for performing the dielectric barrier discharge, wherein the dielectric excimer light is detected by detecting the ultraviolet excimer light. Means for recognizing the lighting state of the body barrier discharge lamp, and means for automatically shutting off the voltage applied to the dielectric barrier discharge lamp when the dielectric barrier discharge lamp is recognized as not lighting, A more secure dielectric barrier discharge lamp device is obtained.

Further, as a means for detecting the ultraviolet excimer light, the photoelectric surface is made of Cs-Te, Cs-I, Mg, Cd, Sn.
, K, Au, K-Br, Ag, one of the photocells is used.
Since the sensitivity to light having a wavelength of 0 nm or more is extremely low,
Erroneous recognition due to a lamp for general lighting such as a fluorescent lamp or daylight is eliminated, and a safer dielectric barrier discharge lamp device can be obtained. When a phosphor that emits by the ultraviolet excimer light is used as a means for detecting the ultraviolet excimer light, there are advantages such that the lighting state can be directly visually recognized or the detection of the ultraviolet excimer light can be simplified.

[0009]

1 is a schematic view of a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a coaxial cylindrical dielectric barrier discharge lamp used in the dielectric barrier discharge lamp device. A schematic diagram is shown in FIG. 2, the discharge vessel 1 is made of synthetic quartz glass of length about 150 mm, an outer diameter D ₁ is 14 mm, the inner tube 2 wall thickness 1mm, the inner diameter D ₂ of about 24 mm, an outer tube 3 having a thickness of 1mm coaxially The discharge space 8 is formed as a hollow cylindrical discharge space. The outer tube 3 also serves as a dielectric barrier for the dielectric barrier discharge and a light extraction window member, and has an electrode 4 made of a conductive net that transmits light on its outer surface. On the outer surface of the inner tube 4, there is provided an aluminum thin film electrode 5 which also serves as a light reflection plate and a dielectric barrier discharge electrode. The aluminum thin film electrode 5
Was coated with boron nitride 20 to protect the aluminum thin film electrode 5 chemically and mechanically. A sealed base 10 is fixed to only one end of the discharge vessel 1 with an adhesive 12, and the lead wire 9 is drawn out in an airtight state by the adhesive 13. At the other end, a window member 40 for displaying the lighting state of the dielectric barrier discharge lamp or extracting ultraviolet excimer light for controlling the dielectric barrier discharge lamp
Is provided. Boron nitride 20 is not necessarily required because the interior cavity 7 is closed by the extension 41 of the window 40. Xenon gas of 300 Torr was filled in the discharge space 8 of the discharge vessel as a discharge gas. The dielectric barrier discharge lamp was lit by a power supply 6 with an input power per square centimeter of surface area of 0.2 Watt. As a result, ultraviolet light having a maximum value at a wavelength of 172 nm was efficiently emitted, but the emission of visible light was very small.

In FIG. 1, the dielectric barrier discharge lamp 41 described above has a lamp house 42 having an irradiation window 43.
The power supply 6 is attached by a cable 45.
It is connected to the. As the ultraviolet excimer light detector 14,
A photoelectric tube having a photocathode of Cs-Te and a window material of synthetic quartz glass was provided close to a window 40 for extracting ultraviolet excimer light. Reference numeral 15 denotes a signal cable for applying a DC voltage to the phototube, which is the ultraviolet excimer photodetector 14, and for transferring a photocurrent to a power supply unit. When the photocurrent is equal to or less than a preset value, the display element 16 including a light emitting diode attached to the power supply 6 is turned on. When the dielectric barrier discharge lamp 41 is not turned on, no photocurrent is generated in the photoelectric tube, so that the display element 16 is turned on, and the non-lighted state of the dielectric barrier discharge lamp can be easily confirmed, and a safe dielectric A barrier discharge lamp device was obtained. In the above-described embodiment, the display element 16 is turned on when the dielectric barrier discharge lamp is not turned on. However, a method may be used in which the display element 16 is turned on when the dielectric barrier discharge lamp is turned on.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, when no photocurrent is generated for a set time, for example, 0.1 second, the display element 16 is turned on. At the same time, means for cutting off the high voltage applied to the lamp is provided. With the configuration of this embodiment, a safer dielectric barrier discharge lamp device was obtained.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, the first,
Instead of the phototube in Example 2, a combination of a phosphor that emits light by the ultraviolet excimer light and a silicon photodiode for detecting emitted light of the phosphor was used. As the phosphor, Zn ₂ SiO ₄ : M which emits green light is used.
n was used. The photodetector was reduced in size and a safe dielectric barrier discharge lamp device was obtained.

A schematic diagram of a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a light transport glass rod 46 provided with a phosphor 47 emitting light by the ultraviolet excimer light at the tip is provided near the window 40 for extracting the ultraviolet excimer light, and the visible light emitted by the phosphor is emitted. The light transport glass rod 46 is guided to the other end 44 protruding outside the lamp house, and is directly displayed. In this embodiment, detection of ultraviolet excimer light,
Since electric members and means are not used for display, there is an advantage that the device is simplified and the reliability is increased.

In the above embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the dielectric barrier discharge lamp has a structure in which the dielectric for the dielectric barrier discharge also serves as the light extraction window member. In the dielectric barrier discharge lamp device, as shown in FIG. 4, a dielectric barrier having a configuration in which a discharge gas and a dielectric barrier discharge electrode 101 are inserted into a discharge vessel 100 also serving as a discharge space 8 and a lamp house 42. It is obvious that the present invention is also applied to a discharge lamp device.
In the figure, reference numeral 102 denotes a dielectric, and 103 denotes a dielectric barrier discharge. The irradiation window 43 is sealed if necessary. Further, it is obvious that the present invention is also applied to a discharge lamp device utilizing a creeping discharge in which a dielectric is inserted into a discharge path which is a kind of dielectric barrier discharge.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily and visually recognize that the lamp is lit, and to provide a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device with high safety. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of a dielectric barrier discharge lamp used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of another embodiment of the dielectric barrier discharge lamp device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device to which the present invention can be applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 discharge vessel 2 inner tube 3 outer tube 4 conductive mesh electrode 5 conductive thin film electrode 6 power supply 8 discharge space 10 base 11 base 14 ultraviolet excimer light detector 15 cable 16 display element 20 boron nitride film 40 control ultraviolet excimer light Take-out window 40 41 Dielectric barrier discharge lamp 42 Lamp house 46 Light transport glass rod 47 Phosphor

Continuing from the front page Examiner Hiroshi Ogawa (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01J 65/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A discharge vessel filled with a gas forming excimer by a dielectric barrier discharge, and an electrode for performing a dielectric barrier discharge using the gas as a discharge gas. a dielectric barrier discharge lamp to take out ultraviolet excimer light generated in the dielectric barrier discharge lamp device comprising a power supply apparatus for dielectric barrier discharge, and means for detecting the該紫outside excimer light, the ultraviolet excimer
A dielectric barrier discharge lamp device, further comprising means for displaying a lighting state of the dielectric barrier discharge lamp based on a result of light detection . A discharge vessel filled with a gas for forming an excimer by the dielectric barrier discharge, and an electrode for performing a dielectric barrier discharge using the gas as a discharge gas; A dielectric barrier discharge lamp having a window member for taking out the ultraviolet excimer light generated by the above, and a dielectric barrier discharge lamp device comprising a power supply device for performing the dielectric barrier discharge; and a means for detecting the ultraviolet excimer light. , This ultraviolet excimer
Means for recognizing a lighting state of the dielectric barrier discharge lamp based on a result of light detection, and automatically applying a voltage applied to the dielectric barrier discharge lamp when the dielectric barrier discharge lamp is recognized as not lighting A dielectric barrier discharge lamp device, characterized in that a means for electrically blocking is provided. 3. A means for detecting the ultraviolet excimer light, wherein the photocathode has Cs-Te, Cs-I, Mg, Cd, Sn, K, Au.
3. The dielectric barrier discharge lamp device according to claim 1, wherein the dielectric barrier discharge lamp device is a kind selected from the group consisting of a phototube, K-Br and Ag. 4. The dielectric barrier discharge lamp device according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting the ultraviolet excimer light is a phosphor which emits light by the ultraviolet excimer light.