Progress in Plasma Processing of Materials, 2003

ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-192-1

ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-447-2

ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE LIGHT SOURCES: A CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE

DOI: 10.1615/ITPPC-2002.730
pages 603-615

Résumé

The first electric powered lamp operated more that 150 years ago, since then the evolution of light sources is astonishing. Today, more than 10% of the global electric power produced worldwide serve for light production from several billions lamps. Since last three decades incandescent lamps are gradually replaced by more energy efficient discharge lamps. In parallel, new generations of Light Emitting Diodes, producing bright colours (including white) with luminous efficacy challenging even discharge lamps, appeared in past years. The objective of this paper is to focus on the state of art in the domain of light sources and discuss the challenges for the near future.