DISCHARGE LAMP

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a discharge lamp capable of emitting white light by one kind of phosphor. SOLUTION: This discharge lamp includes a tube 11 with an ionizing medium containing mercury filled therein, a pair of electrodes arranged in the tube 11 for generating discharge, and a phosphor layer 12 arranged on the inside wall of the tube. The discharge lamp is structured such that the phosphor layer 12 transmits visible light within ultraviolet light and the visible light generated by discharge between the pair of electrodes; and the phosphor layer 12 receives the ultraviolet light to emit visible light of a wavelength different from that of the visible light generated by the discharge. For instance, the diameters of phosphor fine particles of the phosphor layer are set not greater than the wavelength of the visible light. Thereby, white light emission can be provided by mixing the visible light generated by the discharge with the visible light generated by the phosphor layer 12. COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT