Long life solid-state RF powered light sources for projection display and general lighting applications.

Solid-state RF powered electrodeless light source is presented that has high luminous output and long life, having achieved over 16,000 hours of continuous operation at better than 90% of initial output. The lamp operates around 900 MHz using 160 W of RF power at 65% efficiency. The lamp uses a silicon LDMOS power amplifier in a high-power oscillator configuration, and it converts microwaves into light energy using a novel waveguide cavity resonator to couple power into the bulb. The lamp light spectrum is broadband, and similar to sunlight with CRI>90. This achievement marks the first ever successful commercialization and mass production of electrodeless light source technology for consumer applications. These lamps have been in volume production at over 10,000 units/month for use in microdisplay-based rear projection televisions, and conform to various reliability standards, including UL and FCC requirements.