47.1: A 32-in. Integrated Hg-free Lamp that Eliminates Problems of Backlights with Multiple Lamps

To date backlight solutions for large size LCD TV's are relying on direct lights using multiple tubing systems based on mercury. Besides other drawbacks the use of Hg has to be paid off by intrinsic Hg reactions with lamp components which result in blackening and efficiency depreciation. Direct light B/L units with a large number of discharge tubes are suffering much more by that intrinsic drawback than all other known systems relying on Hg. As a consequence, it seems to be questionable whether the demand of TV application to guarantee a uniform aging over lifetime can be met. With the 32″ lamp of the new PLANON generation a breakthrough for LCD TV backlighting has been achieved. The mercury free, xenon based one‐body lamp solution delivers instant light and long lifetime. Maintenance problems and the uncertainty of an inhomogeneous appearance during lifetime as, e.g., shadowing or striping of the radiation pattern in the LCD panel area as they may reveal in mercury based systems do not arise. After the redesign of lamp and production technology of PLANON the door to a cost effective mass production with the ability for an up scaling to high volume production within short times has been opened.