Luxim Corporation

Paul Ralston

Marc Joseph DeVincentis

Gregg Alan Hollingsworth

Jae Won Kim

Sandeep Mudunuri

An electrodeless plasma lamp having a bulb containing a fill that forms a light-emitting plasma is described. The lamp includes a power amplifier to provide radio frequency power to the fill at a frequency in the range of about 50 MHz to 10 GHz and the power amplifier is configured to operate in at least two classes of operation. Control electronics of the lamp is configured to change the class of operation of the power amplifier during operation of the plasma lamp. For example, the power amplifier may be configured to operate as a class A/B amplifier during at least a first mode of operation and a class C amplifier during at least a second mode of operation.

Electrodeless plasma lamp systems and methods

In one example embodiment, a drive probe is coupled to the lamp body to provide the primary power for ignition and steady state operation of the lamp. Feedback may be used to adjust frequency in response to changing conditions of the lamp during startup. A phase shifter may be used to adjust the phase of the power between ignition and steady state operation. A sensor may detect a lamp operating condition that automatically triggers a shift in phase after the fill in the bulb is vaporized. In another example embodiment, a method for sequentially optimizing the drive power and phase shift applied to the lamp is disclosed that may reliably regulate the lamp current consumption to desired startup and operational levels despite variations in lamp environmental conditions.

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Paul Ralston