RF-Lighting.com  RF Lighting Devices a Radiondistics' spin-off
RF Lighting Devices - Italy - Logo
Home Background Patents Products Contact us

Welcome to RF-Lighting.com - The official RF Lighting Devices' web site.

RF Lighting Devices is the world's sole designer and manufacturer of artificial lighting sources based on the direct bombardment of fluorescent tubes by progressive radio waves.

A rapid T2 fluorescente tube being excited through secondary ionization by radio waves bombardment in a progressive regime

A fluorescente tube (Rapid T12, 2,4 m. long) excited through secondary ionization by radio waves bombardment.

Several means are known for obtaining light emission out of fluorescent tubes and lamps. Some are more convenient than others and however similar their outcome may look they only share part of the phenomena involved.

Ever since 1970, when John M. Anderson disclosed his own invention regarding (US Patent #3,500,118) an "electrodeless gaseous electric discharge device utilizing ferrite cores", there has been a proliferation of similar devices, culminating in what they are now known as "induction lamps" and some manufacturers even call them "RF lighting devices" .

According to the internationally recognised classification, the RF lighting devices are those devices capable of producing light by using RF energy to stimulate gases contained inside a lamp and not the ones having just circuitry dealing with radio frequency electric signals.
Therefore, it must be stressed that none of them can technically be defined as being radio-frequency lighting devices and by no means they should be confused with our products or viceversa.

The underlying principle behind the functioning of true RF lighting devices is the ionizing power of the radio waves.

The ionizing power of the radio waves and the radioluminescence effect exploited in the investigation of antennas and RF transmission lines behaviour.

RF Lighting devices employes Radiondistics' proprietary patented technology stemming from Francesco Errante' s brainchild.

Find out more on the science and technology behind the radio-electric transduction light source, here!

Until the year 2003, the radioluminescence effect in the shortwave spectrum of the radio waves (HF) was RADIONDISTICS' most tightly kept secret, this because the exploitation of this phenomenon in connection with readily available linear fluorescent tubes was and still is the only means to visually investigate the radio-electric transduction mechanism and the behaviour of radio waves being radiated from radio antennas. (see: A secondary ionization fluorescence hertzian radiation passive detector )

The radioluminescence stimulated by radio waves direct bombardment of fluorescent tubes is much more than just a means for detecting radio waves emission. Infact, the ionizing power of the radio waves in the shortwave spectrum (HF) can advantageously be exploited to energize any fluorescent tube to provide artificial light at a fraction of the energy that traditional electric discharge methods would require, including those systems powered through an electronic ballast or even modern "magnetic induction lamps" (aka: "induction lamps" for short).

Fluorescent lamps are the most efficient white light sources, way above any LED device developed to date.

However, due to the poor energy conversion efficiency afforded by both the galvanic and the inductive method of ignition, the overall efficiency drops drastically.
So, it must be made clear that it is not the fluorescent tube it-self the one responsable for the bulk of its energy consumption but the devices, the circuitry or the method employed to energize it.

Luminaires based on fluorescent neon tubes as luminous bodies, for decades, have maintained their primacy on energy efficiency, luminous efficiency and color rendering over the rest of the electric power artificial lighting sources available.
With the advent of new technologies, the polyvalent primacy of the fluorescent tubes has been attacked on several fronts, not only on the energy efficiency one, but also on the aesthetic and the miniaturization fronts. To date, however, no new source of artificial lighting beats them in terms of color rendering. For this important reason, the industry has invested considerable resources to catch up with other rivaling technologies in terms of energy performance and their size, with notable successes also with regard to the ability to control their brightness - something impossible to be obtained with old tubes and old electrical ballast.
However, the fluorescent tubes are penalized by the fact that the electrical phenomenon used to give rise to their ignition, known as arc discharge (galvanic crossing of the gases to work of electric current), it is inherently expensive and requires an amount of energy which is not technically possible to reduce and consequently the power consumption values of the conventional fluorescent tubes luminaires cannot be improved any further.
The fluorescent tubes, however, lend themselves advantageously to be triggered and maintained switched on by means of other forms of excitation energy that allow it to exhibit a light efficiency far higher than that when the arc discharge is employed. Leaving aside the radioluminescence by permanent radioactive sources, they are:

1) the one, improperly, known as "magnetic induction";
2) the direct bombardment by radio waves.

The "induction lamps", although still undermarketed are available for lighting small and large surfaces, (eg: Philips QL Lamp, now QL Company and ICETRON Osram-Sylvania ) with their own limitations in terms of energy efficiency and luminous bodies size, while the luminaires based on the direct bombardment by radio waves have only recently appeared in the consumer lighting market.

Lighting is a major energy consumer. For many buildings, such as commercial and public sites, lighting uses up more energy than anything else.

The need for artificial lighting is a large and rapidly growing source of energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time the savings potential of lighting energy is high. New energy efficient lighting technologies are coming onto the market. Currently, more than 33 billion lamps operate worldwide, consuming more than 2650 TWh of energy annually, which is 19% of the global electricity consumption.
It is estimated that energy consumption for commercial lighting accounts for something in region of 25% to 40% of their entire power requirement and substantial savings can be made in this area by designing and installing the right units and controls based on the most efficient equipment available.
Substitution of standard or obsolete lighting units by high efficiency lighting units can typically generate savings of between 20% and 70%.

Today, fluorescent lamps light over 80% of the building floor space.

In conventional discharge lamps, the energy required to supply the light source is provided by direct or low frequency alternating electric currents, which require the presence of electrodes within the lamp to trigger and maintain the discharge. The presence of electrodes places severe restrictions on lamp design and is a major cause of failure, hence limiting lamp life. Fluorescent lamps operate with thermionic cathodes; that is to say, an electron emitting material (such as barium oxide) is coated onto the electrode. The inevitable evaporation of emitter material during life causes unsightly darkening of the end of the lamp and results eventually in lamp failure. Conventional fluorescent lamps have rated life of around 5,000-20,000 hrs, while electrodeless fluorescent lamps are rated at 100,000 hrs.
The prospect of developing "electrodeless" lamps has challenged the lighting industry for more than a century, since Tesla demonstrated in 1891 that light could be produced in the presence of a high frequency electric field. The introduction of lamps based on the electrodeless principle for general purpose lighting has been hampered by the lack of readily available, compact, cheap and reliable driving electronics. However, in the last decade, progress in semiconductor electronics and power switching technology have made this approach commercially feasible.

The luminaires based on the bombardment by progressive regime radio waves designed and produced by the RF Lighting Devices allow, with safety and reliability, to achieve energy efficiency (luminous efficiency) far superior to any other artificial lighting system known so far, including those LED and allow fluorescent tubes to maintain the same characteristics of color rendering as shown when traditionally excited by arc.
Moreover, the radio waves direct bombardment system does not introduce any limitation to the physical size of luminous bodies that can be used.

Our products are most suitable for large indoor areas where a daylight-like and high luminance lighting is desirable.

True RF lighting devices exhibit several advantages:

• Huge energy saving: >50% compared to other energizing methods;
• Employ readily available cheap off-the-shelf conventional fluorescent tubes;
• Ease of retrofitting in linear fluorescent tube fixtures existing arrangment;
• Reduced number of units required compared to round induction lamps;
• No need for high rased bay for covering large areas;
• Fully electrode-less;
• No extra safety concerns. Any existing safety device for fluorescent tubes, such as protecting sleeves or shatterproof srhrinkwrap can be easily adopted. Industry standard colour filters can continue to be used too.
• No electric noise emissions (ample spectrum radio frequency interferences is a major EMC problem caused by the electronic ballasts, see also spectrum analisys of high energy efficiency fluorescent lights, the induction lamps, the plasma lighting systems and even the LED based energy efficient lighting);
• Virtually, no heat generation (resulting in even less energy consumption, longer tube life expectancy and low lumen depreciation);
• No thermal inertia (making them suitable for special light effects, eg.: flashing and sweeping light bars);
• Immediate lamp starting;
• No flickering nor strobing;
• Dimmerable down to >100 mW RF output (ultrafast dynamic dimmering);
• Reasonable cost of the equipment and installation.

 

RF Lighiting Devices' equipment are designed and constructed in accordance with good engineering practice and state-of-the-art technology and have sufficient shielding and filtering to provide adequate suppression of all radiated and/or conducted unwanted emission, according to the highest interference-causing equipment industrial standard.

All the concepts, methods, designs and devices presented on this web site
are the original novelty works of FRANCESCO ERRANTE.
Patents & Copyright © 2003- of FRANCESCO ERRANTE.

Material is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act.
No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission.
Copies of these documents made by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, may only be employed for personal use.
All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. Copyright © 2015 - RF Lighting Devices, Italy | RF-Lighting.com

RF interference rf noise chemiluminescence phosphore phisical principles induction lamps plasma lighting microwave lamps lighting devices energizing a plasma arc without using filaments or electrodes gas discharge tube fluorescent light bulbs and tubes irradiance disadvantages: Bulky design for large area lighting, the discharge tube is large compared with HID lamps. New and Old technology: it is new: it is still expensive to buy the lamps. It is old: most companies that make the lamps are using 20 year old ballast technology copied from OSRAM and Philips. The ballasts have a high failure rate. The technology is under commercialized. Radio interference is a major problem to be worked out. The lamps are limited in use due to this issue. An induction lamp is a fluorescent lamp where the electric discharge is induced by a magnetic field, rather than an electric field as in a fluorescent lamp, and therefore does not have any electrodes. Induction lamps produce light by exciting the same phosphors found in conventional fluorescent lamps. The radio frequency (RF) power supply sends an electric current to an induction coil, generating an electromagnetic field. This field excites the mercury in the gas fill, causing the mercury to emit UVenergy. The UVenergy strikes and excites the phosphor coating on the inside of the glass bulb, producing light. Electrodeless lamps have efficacies similar to those of CFLs or HID lamps of comparable light output. Electrodeless lamps use rare-earth phosphors, giving them color properties similar to those of higher-end fluorescent lamps. Because the lamp has no electrodes that usually cause lamp failure, the life of this system is limited by the induction coil. Induction lamps are rated at 100,000 h of life. Because of this long life, and the good color rendition, induction technology is coming into use for areas where maintenance to change the lamp is expensive, such as high ceilings in commercial and industrial buildings, atria, tunnels, roadway sign lighting, etc. Induction lamps are electronic devices, and like all electronic devices they may generate electromagnetic interference (EMI) if unwanted electromagnetic signals, which can travel through wiring or radiate through the air, interfere with desirable signals from other devices. Shielding of the system to protect people and equipment from these emissions is important. Manufacturers must comply with national regulations on EMI to sell products in any country This Interference-Causing Equipment Standard ICES-005, Issue 3, for Radio Frequency Lighting Devices (RFLD) Electrical lighting and similar equipment EN 55015 CISPR 15 AS/NZS CISPR 15 EMC phenomenon of emitted disturbance associated with: Conducted (continuous and intermittent) radio frequency disturbance Radiated radio frequency disturbance Test procedures and requirements associated with the EMC phenomenon.Electrodeless lamps For lighting, the relevant standard is CISPR 15 (4th edition, September 1992), although there may be local differences from country to country. In this standard, lighting devices are allowed to operate in the ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) bands. For induction lamps there is a band 14 kHz wide at 13.56 MHz that has been used, with the advantage that there is also an ISM band at twice the frequency, so that the first harmonic does not have to be particularly well screened. The allowed level of emission is sufficiently high for practical lamps, but the small bandwidth means that accurate frequency control is necessary, which increases circuit costs significantly. Another band is available for non-communications use at 2400-2500 MHz, centred on 2450 MHz. This is the band that is used for microwave ovens, but is also used for light sources (see section 11.5). CISPR 15 also permits a relaxed level for the 'magnetic field induced current' between 2.2 and 3 MHz, a region of poor broadcast reception which lies between the medium and short wave radio bands. II is practically impossible to provide screening of the magnetic field of electrodeless lamps to the level required outside this band by CISPR 15. Although the emission allowed between 2.2 and 3 MHz. is still quite low, it has proved practical to use this band for the operation of electrodeless lamps. It is fortunate that commercially useful lamps operate at close to optimum in this frequency range. Clearly the CISPR 15 standard has a dominant influence on the choice of frequencies for electrodeless lamps. Another source of interference is terminal disturbance voltage (TDV), sometimes called conducted interference. RF currents may flow out of the lamp and into cables and other conductors, from which they may radiate and interfere with broadcast reception. In many electronically ballasted lamps the main source of TDV is called differential mode (OM) noise. This results in switching transients causing current to ftow out of, say, the live lead, through the cabling and back into the neutral. Filtering must be provided at the mains input end of the circuit to reduce the DM currents to acceptable levels. ln induc· tioo lamps another source, called common mode (CM) noise, can be dominant. The lamp coil is coupled capacitatively to the ground plane. Driven by the coil voltage, current can flow through this capacitance to ground and back through both the supply wires to the lamp. CM noise is also measured in the CJSPR 15 TDV test. A number of means for reducing CM TDV are available, of which the simplest is to enclose the lamp in a Faraday cage, which may be either a fitting or a transparent conducting coating on the lamp Any RF power which escapes from electrodeless lamps must be small enough to be safe. At present there are no standards for human exposure to EM radiation. However, there are many national recommended level" of exposure which are broadly similar lo each other. In the UK for example, the National Radiological Protection Board publishes Restrictions on human exposure to static and time varying electromt:{gneticfields and radiation. Electrodeless lamps need to comply with national recommendations.The induction lamp is also referred to as the `electrodeless lamp'. It relies upon both magnetic and fluorescent principles for its operation. The constructional features of the lamp Energy transfer using magnetism (following the electrical transformer principle) is employed with the low pressure mercury filling in the lamp acting as a secondary coil of the transformer. A high frequency alternating electrical current in the primary winding is supplied from an external source.The current induced in the mercury vapour gives rise to emission of ultraviolet radiation in a similar manner to that in a conventional fluorescent lamp and the phosphor coating on the inside of the lamp envelope converts this UV radiation into visible light. The lamp life is typically 60000 h to 100000 h, which makes the use of such lamps in relatively inaccessible areas particularly beneficial. The useful life of conventional fluorescent lamps is primarily limited by the life of the cathodes. A secondary issue is phosphor life, which is partly dependent on the presence of impurities some of which come from the cathodes. It can therefore be surmised that if it was possible to make an electrodeless lamp, the result would be a lamp with exceptionally long life. In a normal fluorescent lamp a longtitudinal electric field between the two electrodes drives the discharge. The induction lamp is a device whereby an electric field is induced into an ionized vapor, without the need for electrodes. A way by which this can be done is illustrated in Figure 5.1. Here a ferrite coil is carrying a high frequency alternating current. Its magnetic field is continually varying; but we know that if a conductor is placed in a varying magnetic field, a voltage is induced in it. The conductor itself then produces an electric field. If the conductor is itself a plasma, then the field is set up within it. Figure 5.1 shows that the electric field is at right angles to the magnetic field. If the field is strong enough and is within the mercury vapor, then the result is the production of UV radiation, just as it is in a fluorescent lamp. Inductive discharges were known about in the 19th century, and an induction lamp was patented as early as 1907. However, the realization of a practical induction lamp had to wait until the arrival of compact power electronics. The design of induction lamps is a juggling act between getting the physics of the discharge right, achieving a good power conversion efficiency, and meeting EMC requirements. Lamp manufacturers have approached the problem