![]() The key to these light arrays are the micro-cavities which are formed within the flexible sheets. By successfully confining that plasma in parallel rows of micro-cavities within thin sheet materials, Eden and Park ultimately arrived at various implementations of micro-plasma arrays, some of which result in inexpensive, wafer-thin, and very flexible sheets of light. Just as in a fluorescent light, a micro-cavity array is energized by an applied voltage. It is at this point that the "eureka" lightbulb (or in this case-microplasma array (MCA)-literally turned on. The very high pressures that can thus be obtained in micro-plasmas give rise to unique lighting and other properties. A fundamental rule for stable, steady state plasmas is pressure times diameter scaling, the smaller the plasma dimensions, the higher the pressure can be. Eden was the issue of space and pressure. What made this fortuitous discovery interesting to Dr. ![]() Eden explains: "In 1996 the students approached me with, literally, a block of silicon, and they said, 'do you mind if we drill a small hole in this and try to produce a plasma inside the hole?' In short order they produced a plasma inside a hole with a diameter of about 400 microns, a crude forerunner of the current micro-cavity array lighting system." Eden did not set out to make a better light bulb-it was a query from two graduate students that showed the way. to bring this new lighting technology to the world.Īs is the case with many basic research endeavors, Dr. Gary Eden and Sung-Jin Park of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, have founded Eden Park Illumination, Inc. A research team funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research has pioneered the use of micro-plasmas in a revolutionary approach to illumination, and Drs. It is now also found in a new form of lighting. It is found in our Sun and all the other stars, and in more down to earth applications: in neon signs, Plasma TVs, Cathode Ray Tubes, and the ubiquitous fluorescent light. But this subset has coexisted with the other forms since the Big Bang and actually makes up 99 percent of the universe. But to be precise, a plasma is an ionized gas thus, a subset of the big three. ![]() It was not too long ago that basic science lectures began with the three forms of matter: gases, liquids and solids-and somewhere along the line plasmas were occasionally added to the list. view moreĬredit: Courtesy of Eden Park Illumination Gary Eden and Sung-Jin Park of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, ultimately arrived at various implementations of micro-plasma arrays, which result in inexpensive, wafer-thin, and very flexible sheets of light. By successfully confining that plasma in parallel rows of micro-cavities within thin sheet materials, Drs. Image: A research team funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research has pioneered the use of micro-plasmas in a revolutionary approach to illumination. ![]()
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