Abstract: In a discharge lamp having a discharge vessel and external electrodes, at least one electrode similar to a conductor track is an integral part of a laminate (5) which is adhesively bonded to the outer side of the discharge vessel and includes a carrier film made of electric insulating material.

Abstract: There is presented an electroluminescent phosphor powder of copper-activated zinc sulfide particles that has a size distribution with a D50 value of less than 12 ?m, and more preferably less than 10 ?m. The powder is preferably made by a method that includes the steps of combining copper-doped zinc sulfide with sulfur, zinc oxide and a chloride-containing flux to form a first mixture; preliminarily firing the first mixture and milling the preliminarily fired first mixture to form a milled material having a D50 value of less than or equal to about 5 ?m; blending the milled material with sulfur, zinc oxide and a chloride-containing flux to form a second mixture; firing the mixture in a first firing step at a temperature in a range of about 1020° C. to about 1080° C. to form a hexagonal zinc sulfide material; inducing defects into the hexagonal zinc sulfide material; firing the hexagonal zinc sulfide material in a second firing step at a temperature in a range of about 650° C. to about 850° C.

Abstract: In the dielectric barrier discharge lamps according to the invention, the elongate, for example strip-like or linear, electrodes are each separated into two electrode elements (14a, 14b; 15a, 15b) by a gap in the longitudinal direction. This makes it possible, as intended, to operate one element (14a, 15a) of the electrode elements separately from the other element (14b, 15b) and, as a result, to cause either only one part of the lamp to illuminate or the entire lamp. For this purpose, one element (14a, 15a) of the electrode elements is connected to a first operating device (22), and the other element (14b, 15b) to a second operating device (21).

Abstract: A method is provided for making narrow-band, UVB-emitting, (Y,Gd,Ce,Pr)Mg borate phosphors. The method involves the use of a mixed oxide co-precipitate which is combined with MgO and boric acid and fired twice to form the borate phosphor. The mixed oxide co-precipitate is formed by dissolving sources of Y, Gd, Ce, and optionally Pr, in an acid solution. Oxalic acid or ammonia is added to the solution (or vice versa) to form a co-precipitate of oxalates or hydroxides that are further fired to obtain a mixed oxide co-precipitate. The use of the mixed oxide co-precipitate improves homogeneity and yields a phosphor having a higher brightness with very little or no sticking between the fired cakes and the firing crucibles.

Abstract: An electroluminescent phosphor powder includes copper-activated zinc sulfide particles that have a size distribution with a D50 value of no more than 10 ?m, where no more than 25% of the particles have a size greater than about 15 ?m and/or a 24-hr brightness of at least 15 footlamberts. These particles are made by a method that includes first firing copper-doped zinc sulfide mixed with zinc oxide, sulfur and a chloride-containing flux, rapidly cooling the mixture to below 100° C., and then mulling and second firing the mixture to provide a powder. The powder can then be elutriated to provide the electroluminescent powder with a narrow particle size distribution (more than 90% between about 5 and 15 ?m). The elutriating step can be avoided (albeit with a slightly wider size distribution) by more tightly controlling the first firing temperature.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing oxidic nanocrystals from metal organic compounds or volatile inorganic compounds comprises an apparatus which includes a first vaporizer which is connected to a first carrier gas stream to produce a first reactant gas stream, a second vaporizer is connected to a second carrier gas stream to produce a second reactant gas stream the first and second reactant gas streams are connected to a first feed line and flow heated reactor wherein the reactants are heated and reacted to provide oxidic nanocrystals which are unagglomerated having a mean particle size of up to 20 nanometers.

Abstract: An illumination system for backlighting liquid crystal displays has a flat lamp, which has a front side provided for emitting the light and a rear side opposite the front side, a flat housing having a planar rear wall and four side walls, the flat lamp being arranged within the housing on the rear wall, and a frame that at least partially surrounds the side walls of the housing and extends at least up to the edge of the flat lamp.

Abstract: A process for producing a phosphate of the lanthanoids is described. The process is based on a two-jet precipitation, starting from separate reservoirs of a rare earth salt solution and a phosphate solution which are introduced simultaneously by separate feedlines into an aqueous acidified initial charge with stirring at a pH of 0?pH?1. After the solutions are added, the pH is raised to a pH of >2 to complete the phosphate precipitation.

Abstract: A phosphor with a garnet structure is distinguished by the addition of Si. It is suitable in particular for photon excitation by light sources with an emission between 250 and 550 nm.

Abstract: A discharge lamp (1) having a discharge vessel (2) which surrounds a discharge medium which emits electromagnetic radiation in the VUV region when the lamp is operating has, on the inner side of the discharge vessel wall, a first phosphor layer, which faces the discharge medium and comprises a UVA component which can be excited by the VUV radiation and is intended to emit electromagnetic radiation in the UVA region. A second phosphor layer, which can be excited by the UVA radiation and is intended to emit electromagnetic radiation in the visible region either lies beneath the first phosphor layer or is applied to the outer side of the discharge vessel wall. This results in a lower color locus shift compared to a conventional phosphor mixture, which can be excited directly by VUV radiation.

Abstract: The invention relates to a novel method for producing gas discharge devices, in particular discharge lamps or plasma display units, in which discharge vessels are purged in a chamber with the required gas filling at superatmospheric pressure.

Abstract: The electroluminescent phosphor of this invention is comprised of zinc sulfide activated with copper and iodine and may produce an emission with an x color coordinate from 0.145 to 0.155 and a y color coordinate from 0.085 to 0.095. The phosphor preferably contains from about 0.08 to about 0.90 weight percent (wt. %) copper.

Abstract: The invention relates to a fluorescent lamp for the illumination of plants, having a tubular discharge vessel, two electrodes which are fused in a gastight manner into the ends of the discharge vessel, a fill comprising at least a noble gas and mercury, and a phosphor coating on the inner wall of the vessel, the phosphor coating at least including a europium-doped barium magnesium aluminate phosphor of the BaMgAl10O17:Eu type and a cerium- and terbium-doped gadolinium zinc magnesium pentaborate phosphor of the Gd(Zn,Mg)B5O10:Ce,Mn type, and, to generate light with as high a light yield as possible and with a color temperature of between 4000 and 5500 K, the phosphor coating additionally includes an antimony- and manganese-doped calcium halophosphate phosphor of the Ca10(PO4)6(F,Cl)2:Sb,Mn type. This novel phosphor coating allows the light yield to be increased by 10% if the proportion by weight of the individual phosphors is optimized.

Abstract: A method of making a haloapatite phosphor having a general formula represented by (Ca(1?x?y)MnxSby)5(PO4)3(F(1?z?y)ClzOy), where 0<x<0.05, 0.004<y<0.01, and 0<z<0.1. is provided. The method involves (a) formulating a blend of ingredients to make the haloapatite phosphor, the ingredients including CaHPO4 as a primary source of calcium and phosphorus, (b) partially substituting an amount of an equimolar combination of an ammonium phosphate compound and calcium carbonate for an equal number of moles of CaHPO4 in the formulation, (c) combining the ingredients in their formulated amounts to form the blend, and (d) firing the blend to form the haloapatite phosphor. The partial substitution has been found to increase the 100-hour brightness of the haloapatite phosphors.

Abstract: A hemispherical goniophotometer is disclosed, in which two pivoting arms are articulated on a revolving rotating arm and are each fitted with a measurement head. The geometry of the arrangement is chosen such that the measurement heads can move along the envelope surface of a hemisphere during rotating of the rotating arm through 360° and pivoting of the pivoting arms through 180°.

Abstract: A metal halide fill for a discharge lamp is provided that is comprised of mercury and a mixture of metal halide salts which includes magnesium iodide as a full or partial replacement for calcium iodide. The replacement of at least some of the calcium iodide improves the behavior of the molten salt condensate in the arc tube. In particular, the mixture of metal halide salts contains about 1 to about 50 mole percent sodium iodide, about 15 to about 50 mole percent of a rare earth iodide, about 10 to about 30 mole percent magnesium iodide, about 10 to about 25 mole percent of indium iodide, and about 0 to about 25 mole percent calcium iodide, wherein the sum of the amounts of calcium iodide and magnesium iodide in the mixture is from about 20 to about 45 mole percent.

Abstract: A translucent polycrystalline material suitable for use in ceramic discharge vessels for metal halide lamps is produced by sintering an alumina powder doped with a MgO sintering aid in a nitrogen atmosphere containing a partial pressure of a vapor phase carbon-containing species. The sintered polycrystalline alumina has a grain boundary phase containing aluminum, oxygen and nitrogen. The formation of the AL—O—N grain boundary phase is believed to facilitate the transport of nitrogen from entrapped pores during sintering. Preferably, the PCA is sintered in a carbon-element furnace under flowing ultra-high-purity nitrogen.

Abstract: A dispensable brazing paste useful in lamp manufacturing includes a brazing powder and a water soluble vehicle that has water, glycerin, a binder, and a dispersant that includes ammonium stearate and ammonium citrate. Preferably, the brazing powder is 84-87 wt % of the paste, the water is 3-5 wt %, the glycerin is 3-4 wt %, the binder is 1-2 wt %, and the dispersant is 4-6 wt %, and a weight of the water is within a range of 60-90% of a weight of the dispersant. The brazing paste does not include the troublesome organic solvents of the prior art.

Abstract: The present invention is a single-component, UV-emitting phosphor having a composition represented by the general formula (Y1?x?y?zLaxGdyCeZ)PO4 where x has a value in a range from 0.001 to 0.98, y has a value in a range from 0 and 0.1, z has a value in a range from 0.01 and 0.2, and x+y+z<1. The phosphor when stimulated by 254 nm radiation emits in both the UVA and UVB regions. The relative balance of the UVA and UVB emissions may be varied by adjusting the relative amounts of Y and La. Brightness can be increased by adding Gd to the composition.

Abstract: A method of making a standard tool for calibrating polarimeters that analyze stress in photoelastic material, includes the steps of partially annealing a starting piece of tempered glass so that the starting piece has a retardance below 250 nm/cm, removing a peripheral portion of the starting piece (preferably, at least about 20% of its radial dimension) to leave a working piece, cutting a rectangular parallelepiped from the working piece, polishing two opposing faces of the rectangular parallelepiped where the two opposing faces are spaced apart by a measurement distance through which light passes during stress analysis in a polarimeter, and determining a birefringence of the rectangular parallelepiped across the measurement distance using a calibrated polarimeter. The standard tool is the rectangular parallelepiped having the determined birefringence for the measurement distance. The method can be used to make a set of the standard tools with different measurement distances.