FLAT RARE GAS DISCHARGE LAMP WITH VARIABLE OUTPUT LIGHT COLOR, ILLUMINATION INSTRUMENT COMPRISING IT, AND ITS OPERATING METHOD

摘要

A flat rare gas lamp has a rear substrate and an enclosure with a light output side substrate opposite to the substrate. The inner face of the rear substrate and that of the light output side substrate have first and second phosphor films emitting visible lights of different colors. The rear substrate has first and second electrodes spaced from each other. The light output side substrate has a third electrode facing both the first electrode and the second electrode. A voltage is applied between the first and second electrodes or between the second and third electrodes. Thus, a glow discharge caused by a dielectric barrier discharge occurs near the rear substrate, or near the center inside the enclosure, so that ultraviolet radiation generated by the glow discharge are converted to visible light by the first and second phosphors.