Abstract: A dielectric barrier discharge lamp is provided, which may include an anode and a cathode, a discharge vessel with an exhaust tube, at least one starting electrode which is arranged along the outer side of the exhaust tube, a starting coating, which is arranged in the inner side of the exhaust tube, wherein the starting coating is arranged centrally over the starting electrode, and this starting electrode is connected to the cathode.

Abstract: A lighting system with a dielectric barrier discharge lamp (2) and an operating device (1) is connected to a high-voltage flat ribbon cable (6). As a result, the capacitive line losses can be minimized and both the ignition behavior and the power consumption of the lamp (2) can be improved.

Abstract: A coupling element (2) is proposed for the combining of at least two elongate lamps with in each case two ends. For this purpose, the coupling element (2) has a continuous receptacle area which is provided for receiving an end of each lamp. The receptacle area comprises a reflector (6) in order to reduce the luminance decrease in the region between the lamp ends. With one or a plurality of coupling elements according to the invention in conjunction with two or more elongate lamps, illumination systems having different luminous lengths can be realized in a modular manner.