Aluminum foil lamps outshine incandesc...( ilm 10 microns thick bringing the over...),Health

Flat panels with radiating areas of more than 200 square centimeters have been fabricated, Park said. Depending upon the type of gas and phosphor used, uniform emissions of any color can be produced.

In the researchers preliminary plasma lamp experiments, values of the efficiency known as luminous efficacy of 15 lumens per watt were recorded. Values exceeding 30 lumens per watt are expected when the array design and microcavity phosphor geometry are optimized, Eden said. A typical incandescent light has an efficacy of 10 to 17 lumens per watt.

The researchers also demonstrated flexible plasma arrays sealed in polymeric packaging. These devices offer new opportunities in lighting, in which lightweight arrays can be mounted onto curved surfaces on the insides of windshields, for example.

The flexible arrays also could be used as photo-therapeutic bandages to treat certain diseases such as psoriasis that can be driven into remission by narrow-spectrum ultraviolet light, Eden said.