JP3781719B2 - Ultraviolet surface light source, method for producing the same, and fluorescent transilluminator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultraviolet surface light source and a fluorescent transilluminator using the same as an ultraviolet radiation source.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Gel electrophoresis used in the field of biochemistry such as DNA analysis is a very effective means for analyzing nucleic acids and proteins. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electrophoresis apparatus used therefor. As you can see, a light source that emits ultraviolet rays is indispensable.
[0003]
As described in Patent Document 1, the gel electrophoresis apparatus is generally composed of the following three parts. The first is a component in which a polymer (sample) is previously contained in a support (electrophoresis gel) made of, for example, polyacrylamide or agar, and an electric field is applied to the electrophoretic gel in an electrolytic solution. By applying an electric field to the electrophoresis gel, the macromolecule of the specimen moves in the electrophoresis gel, but there is a difference in the amount of movement of the polymer due to differences in molecular weight and shape. Using this, the macromolecule of the specimen is separated.
[0004]
The second component is a component that irradiates the electrophoresis gel containing the separated analyte polymer described above with ultraviolet rays. The separation state of the polymer separated by the first component is not visible as it is, but when the electrophoresis gel is stained with a fluorescent substance that binds to a nucleic acid such as ethidium bromide and irradiated with ultraviolet rays, The nucleic acid portion fluoresces orange. This makes the separation state of the polymer of the specimen visible. An ultraviolet emission fluorescent lamp is usually used as an ultraviolet radiation source, and such an ultraviolet lamp unit as an ultraviolet radiation source and a structure capable of irradiating an electrophoresis gel with ultraviolet rays from now on are collectively referred to. Called a fluorescent transilluminator.
[0005]
The third part is a component that records and analyzes the separation state of the polymer that can be visually observed.
[0006]
The present invention relates to an ultraviolet light-emitting fluorescent lamp that is particularly effective for use as the above-described fluorescent transilluminator. In FIG. 2, the perspective view and sectional drawing of the fluorescence transilluminator described in FIG. 7 and FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, the fluorescent transilluminator shown in this figure has a structure in which an ultraviolet lamp 8 is built in a box-shaped casing 7. A window is provided on the upper surface of the housing 7, and ultraviolet transmissive glass 9 is fitted into the window. The ultraviolet transmissive glass 9 has a special filter characteristic that allows ultraviolet light to pass but blocks visible light. Then, the electrophoresis gel 10 is placed on the ultraviolet transmissive glass 9, and the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet lamp 8 is irradiated to the electrophoresis gel 10 through the ultraviolet transmissive glass 9.
[0007]
By the way, Patent Document 1 does not describe in detail the ultraviolet lamp 9 used for the fluorescent transilluminator. However, the ultraviolet light source used as the fluorescent transilluminator has conventionally been disclosed in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3. Or what is disclosed by patent document 4 is known. That is, it is an ultraviolet surface light source in which a plurality of straight tube type fluorescent lamps emitting ultraviolet light are arranged in parallel to form a surface light source. In particular, in the ultraviolet surface light sources described in Patent Literature 3 and Patent Literature 4, the wavelength of the radiation ultraviolet rays of the straight tube fluorescent lamps constituting the ultraviolet light sources is changed, and the fluorescent lamps are switched and turned on to take out the light. The structure can switch the wavelength of the radiation ultraviolet light.
[0008]
The reason why the light source is a surface light source is that, as described in Patent Document 2, uniformity of luminance is important when used as a fluorescent transilluminator. Moreover, the reason why the wavelength of the emitted light is made variable is as follows. As mentioned earlier, DNA itself is not visible to the naked eye, but it is stained with a reagent that binds to DNA such as ethidium bromide and fluoresces, and is made visible by irradiating it with ultraviolet light. it can. By the way, there are three types of ultraviolet rays, UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C, from the long wavelength side depending on the wavelength. UV-A is an ultraviolet ray having a wavelength of 315 to 380 nm, UV-B is an ultraviolet ray having a wavelength of 280 to 315 nm, and UV-C is an ultraviolet ray having a wavelength of 100 to 280 nm. It has the property of emitting light efficiently with respect to UV-B. However, some of the observed DNA may be killed by UV-B. In this case, it is desirable to use UV-A having a longer wavelength and a smaller light energy.
[0009]
Here, for each fluorescent lamp of the ultraviolet surface light source having a structure in which a plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps described above are arranged in parallel, a gas containing mercury vapor is conventionally used as a discharge medium. Mercury-excited ultraviolet fluorescent lamps are mainly used. For example, in the wavelength-tunable ultraviolet surface light source described in Patent Document 3, mercury vapor is radiated to the inner wall of a glass tube by a discharge in the UV-A emission fluorescent lamp and the UV-B emission fluorescent lamp. A fluorescent lamp in which a phosphor that emits UV-A or UV-B when excited by ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 254 nm is formed in layers is used. Further, as a fluorescent lamp for UV-C light emission, a fluorescent lamp having a structure in which ultraviolet rays of 254 nm from mercury vapor are directly taken out through a glass tube without using a phosphor is used. This UV-C emission ultraviolet fluorescent lamp is known as a so-called germicidal lamp.
[0010]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-215714 (paragraphs [0002] to [0004], FIGS. 7 and 8)
[Patent Document 2]
US Pat. No. 5,347,342 (column 1, lines 5-55 and FIG. 3)
[Patent Document 3]
US Pat. No. 5,387,801 (column 2, column 32 to column 3, line 7, FIGS. 1 and 3)
[Patent Document 4]
US Pat. No. 5,670,786 (column 1, line 5 to 53 and FIG. 3)
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, a conventional ultraviolet surface light source has a structure in which a plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps are arranged in parallel, and a mercury-excited ultraviolet fluorescent lamp is used for each fluorescent lamp.
[0012]
Therefore, conventional ultraviolet surface light sources have various problems related to the properties of mercury-excited ultraviolet fluorescent lamps themselves, and problems caused by using ultraviolet fluorescent lamps having such properties as components of fluorescent transilluminators. It will be. The first problem is a heavy load on the environment. The second problem is that deterioration of tube glass and electrodes due to mercury is unavoidable, and the lifetime as a fluorescent lamp is not long. Thirdly, it takes a long time for the mercury vapor pressure inside the tube to stabilize immediately after lighting, and the rise in luminance is slow. For this reason, the fluorescence transilluminator using a mercury-excited ultraviolet fluorescent lamp has a problem that the observed DNA may be killed before the luminance reaches a predetermined steady state. Further, since mercury emits light in the visible region in addition to ultraviolet rays, the DNA stained with ethidium bromide or the like is masked by the visible light, making it difficult to see, and the accuracy of analysis is lowered. In order to avoid this phenomenon, as described above, a filter must be provided in the window on the upper surface of the housing 7 (see FIG. 2) of the fluorescent transilluminator. The ultraviolet-transmitting glass 9 in FIG. 2 serves as the filter, but this filter is very expensive because it must have a special characteristic of passing ultraviolet light but blocking visible light. It accounts for about 80% of the price of transilluminators.
[0013]
The various problems described above resulting from the use of mercury-excited ultraviolet fluorescent lamps can be avoided by mercury-free rare gas fluorescent lamps that use only rare gases that do not contain mercury vapor as the discharge medium. This rare gas fluorescent lamp is a fluorescent lamp that has already been put into practical use, for example, a lamp that emits white light is used as a light source for a document reading unit of an OA device such as a scanner, a copying machine, or a facsimile machine. A typical example is a rare gas fluorescent lamp having an aperture type external electrode structure.
[0014]
Referring to FIG. 3 showing a perspective view of a straight tube type rare gas fluorescent lamp having an aperture type and an external electrode structure, two parallel strip electrodes 14A and 14B are provided on the outer surface of the cylindrical glass tube 11. Yes. These are external electrodes. These two external electrodes 14A and 14B are both formed by, for example, attaching a thin and long tape of aluminum foil along the longitudinal direction of the glass tube 11, and are separated by upper and lower gaps 15A and 15B. Insulated state.
[0015]
A rare gas 12 as a discharge medium is sealed inside the glass tube 11. The rare gas 12 is a gas obtained by mixing, for example, xenon gas or other rare gas such as neon or argon, and does not contain any mercury vapor. The sealing pressure is about 100 to 200 Torr. A phosphor layer 13 is formed on the inner wall of the glass tube 11. The phosphor layer 13 has a portion corresponding to the gap 15A between the external electrodes 14A and 14B removed.
[0016]
When a high frequency and high voltage such as 30 kHz and 1500 V are applied between the external inverter 16 and the two external electrodes 14A and 14B in the straight tube type rare gas fluorescent lamp having the aperture type and the external electrode structure, a dielectric is used. Dielectric barrier discharge occurs inside the tube through a glass tube 11. As a result, the phosphor 13 is excited by the ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 172 nm mainly emitted from xenon and emits light, and the aperture (the gap 15A between the external electrodes and the phosphor layer 13 corresponding thereto is not formed). And is taken out through a slit-shaped light extraction portion).
[0017]
If a straight tube type rare gas fluorescent lamp having an external electrode structure as outlined above is used, a plurality of these can be arranged in parallel to realize a mercury-free surface light source. However, merely by arranging a plurality of straight tube-type rare gas fluorescent lamps having the above-described structure, a visible light-emitting mercury-less surface light source can be obtained, but an ultraviolet light-emitting surface light source cannot be obtained.
[0018]
That is, in the external electrode type fluorescent lamp, since the electrodes 14A and 14B are provided outside the glass tube 11, the insulation between the electrodes is affected by the external environment such as humidity and foreign matter adhesion. In addition, since a high frequency and a high voltage are applied between the electrodes, leakage is likely to occur between the electrodes. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an insulating material at least between the electrode 14A and the electrode 14B to enhance the insulating property. It is desirable for the insulating structure to cover the entire glass tube 11 with an insulating material, from the viewpoint of the effect of improving the insulating property and the safety in handling. Therefore, conventionally, the entire glass tube 11 is covered from above the external electrode with a heat shrinkable tube (not shown). While this insulating tube is easy to process and has good light transmittance in the visible region, it has the property of blocking UV-B ultraviolet light. Therefore, the external electrode type fluorescent lamp having the conventional structure in which the glass tube 11 is covered with the heat shrinkable tube cannot be used for the fluorescent transilluminator.
[0019]
From a manufacturing point of view, in the process of manufacturing an aperture type and external electrode structure straight tube fluorescent lamp, the strips of aluminum foil that form the external electrodes 14A and 14B must be attached to the round tube one by one. Processing is very difficult. It is particularly difficult when the diameter of the glass tube 11 is small and narrow. In order to improve the difficulty in manufacturing the aperture-type external electrode, a manufacturing method in which two parallel conductor bands are spirally wound around a glass tube is also considered. The electrode must be made of a light-transmitting material, and the choice of electrode material is narrowed, the manufacturing technology associated with the use of new materials, the low electrical conductivity of the material, and the resistance of the electrode Another problem arises, such as becoming higher.
[0020]
Therefore, the present invention provides an ultraviolet surface light source having a structure in which a plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps including those that emit ultraviolet light are arranged as a surface light source, and the straight tube ultraviolet fluorescent lamp has an aperture-type external electrode structure. An object is to enable the use of a mercury-less rare gas ultraviolet fluorescent lamp.
[0021]
Another object of the present invention is to facilitate the formation of an external electrode particularly in the production of a straight tube type rare gas fluorescent lamp having an aperture type external electrode structure constituting the ultraviolet surface light source.
[0022]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The ultraviolet surface light source of the present invention comprises a surface light source by arranging a plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps having an aperture-type external electrode structure, and the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps include ultraviolet light-emitting straight tube fluorescent lamps. An ultraviolet surface light source having an included structure, wherein the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps are fitted one by one in a plane, and each has a plurality of parallel grooves each having an arc shape in cross section. The inner wall has a structure in which two strip-shaped conductors are formed as external electrodes of a straight tube fluorescent lamp fitted into a groove, and the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps are opposite to the aperture side of the external electrode. And an arc tube fitted in the groove of the insulating block, the inside is sealed with a mercury-free rare gas as a discharge medium, and a phosphor layer is formed on the inner wall The band formed on the inner wall of the groove of the insulating block An arc tube that radiates light having a wavelength corresponding to the phosphor layer formed on the inner wall, comprising a straight tube fluorescent lamp that has the aperture-type external electrode structure integrated with the conductor of A light-transmitting block that is in close contact with one plane of the insulating block and holds the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps from the aperture side of the external electrode, and is made of an ultraviolet transmissive material. And a plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps that are in close contact with each of the straight tube fluorescent lamps and have a plurality of parallel-grooved grooves having an arcuate cross section. An ultraviolet surface light source including means for switching and lighting.
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1 (a) showing a perspective view of a fluorescent transilluminator according to one embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 1 (b) showing a disassembled state in a sectional view, the fluorescent transilluminator shown in FIG. In the solid block-shaped insulator, a plurality of aperture-type, external-tube-structured straight tube fluorescent lamps 1 (in this example, four) are embedded in parallel with a gap therebetween. Thus, the lamp to be turned on can be switched by switching the switch SW (in FIG. 1 (a), the fluorescent lamp formed on the inner wall of the fluorescent lamp is simplified for easy understanding. The layers of the body are omitted). The block-shaped insulator has a structure in which two portions of the electrode-side insulating block 2 positioned on the lower side of the paper and the light-extracting-side insulating block 3 positioned on the upper side are in close contact with the fluorescent lamp 1 interposed therebetween. It has become.
[0024]
The light extraction side insulating block 3 is made of a material having ultraviolet transparency. The light extraction side insulating block 3 is different from the ultraviolet transmissive glass 9 (see FIG. 3) in the conventional fluorescent illuminator, which has a special property that it transmits ultraviolet light but not visible light. It has the property of passing from the ultraviolet region to the visible region. Such an insulating material may be glass or plastic, but it is not particularly required to have special optical properties such as the conventional ultraviolet transmissive glass 9 (same as above). Easy to obtain and inexpensive. If it is glass, the same glass material as the glass tube 11 can be used. If it is a plastic, a methacrylic resin material (for example, Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., registered trademark: Acrylite, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., registered trademark: Sumipex), etc. can be used. On the other hand, the electrode-side insulating block 2 does not need to be particularly ultraviolet transmissive. Rather, considering the deterioration of other members due to ultraviolet rays, it is preferable that the material is light-shielding, but of course, it may be made of the same material as the light extraction side insulating block 2.
[0025]
Each of the four straight tube fluorescent lamps 1 is a mercury-less rare gas fluorescent lamp having an aperture-type external electrode structure. Unlike conventional fluorescent lamps of this type, the external electrodes 4A and 4B are both It is not provided on the glass tube 11 but on the electrode-side insulating block 2. The glass tube 11 is filled with xenon gas 12 as a discharge medium at a pressure of 100 Torr. Note that the discharge medium is not limited to xenon gas, and may be a gas obtained by mixing other rare gas such as neon, argon, or krypton. The sealing pressure is not limited to this example, and a pressure of about 50 to 300 Torr is usually used.
[0026]
On the inner wall of the glass tube 11, an ultraviolet light emitting phosphor layer 13 is formed. The fluorescent material includes a light emitting tube (a glass tube 11, a rare gas 12 of a discharge medium sealed therein, and a fluorescent material layer 13 formed on the inner wall of the glass tube, which are collectively referred to as a “light emitting tube”. In the case of this example, a UV-B emitting phosphor layer 13A is formed on the first and third arc tubes from the left side of the drawing, and the second and fourth layers are used. In the second arc tube, a phosphor layer 13B for UV-A emission is formed. In this embodiment, (Ca, Zn) ₃ (PO ₄ ) ₂ : Tl is used as the UV-B emitting ultraviolet phosphor. In addition, Ca ₃ (PO ₄ ) ₂ : Tl can also be used. Alternatively, a gadolinium (Gd) activated ultraviolet light-emitting phosphor described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-395356 by the same assignee as the assignee of the present invention can also be used. In addition to this gadolinium-activated ultraviolet light-emitting phosphor, YF ₃ : Gd, Pr phosphor disclosed in JP 2001-081460 A and JP 2001-172624 A by the same assignee, YBO ₃ : Gd, Pr phosphor or YB _x O _y : Gd, Pr phosphor (x and y are arbitrary). Examples of the UV-A emitting phosphor include BaSi ₂ O ₅ : Pb phosphor, (Ba, Sr, Mg) ₃ Si ₂ O ₇ : Pb phosphor, SrB ₄ O ₇ : Eu phosphor, and YPO ₄ : Ce phosphor. Body, LaPO ₄ : Ce phosphor, (Mg, Ba) Al ₁₁ O ₁₉ : Ce phosphor and the like can be used.
[0027]
The fluorescent transilluminator according to this example is manufactured as follows. Referring to FIG. 1 (b) showing a sectional view of the exploded fluorescent transilluminator, first, an electrode side insulating block 2, an arc tube 5, a light extraction side insulating block 3 which are constituent members of the fluorescent transilluminator, Prepare. The arc tube 5 is formed with the above-described ultraviolet light emitting phosphor film 13A or 13B on the inner wall of the glass tube by a conventionally known method, and the inside is sealed with xenon gas at a pressure of 100 Torr. No external electrode is formed.
[0028]
The electrode-side insulating block 2 and the light-extracting-side insulating block 3 are made of an insulating material, and in particular, the light-extracting-side insulating block 3 is formed of the above-described ultraviolet transmissive plastic. Then, on the facing surfaces of the two insulating blocks 2, 3, a groove having an arc-shaped cross section corresponding to the outer shape of the arc tube 5 is provided. On the wall surface of the groove of the electrode-side insulating block 2, two strip-shaped conductors 4A and 4B that become aperture-type external electrodes are further formed for each groove. As the electrode material, a metal paste, a metal wire, a metal foil, a metal vapor deposition film or the like is used. The width and thickness of the conductors 4A and 4B may be set to appropriate values according to the diameter of the glass tube 11, the electrode material, the power at the time of lighting, and the like. In order to ensure that the outer wall of the tube 11 is in intimate contact, it is preferable that the thickness be 100 μm or more. If the adhesion between the external electrodes 4A and 4B and the glass tube 11 is not good, energy loss at the time of lighting increases. Therefore, it is also a good method to use an elastic material for the electrode-side insulating block 2.
[0029]
Then, the arc tube 5 is fitted into the groove of the electrode-side insulating block 2, and the light extraction-side insulating block 3 is further covered thereon, and the two insulating blocks 2 and 3 are bonded. Although a mechanical method such as screwing may be used, the adhesion will be good in consideration of the blocking of outside air.
[0030]
Finally, an AC inverter that is a lighting power source is connected to each of the external electrodes 4A and 4B. This inverter is prepared for each group of arc tubes having the same characteristics. That is, the inverter 6A is connected to the first and third UV-B emission fluorescent lamps from the left side of the page, and the inverter 6B is connected to the second and fourth UV-A emission fluorescent lamps. By switching, UV-B and UV-A are switched to light up.
[0031]
The ultraviolet surface light source according to the present invention uses only a rare gas containing no mercury vapor in the discharge medium. The emission spectrum of the discharge medium containing mercury vapor contains a visible region component, whereas when the discharge medium is only a rare gas, the emission spectrum has no visible region component due to mercury vapor. Therefore, when the ultraviolet surface light source according to the present invention is used for a fluorescent transilluminator, an expensive filter having a special characteristic of passing ultraviolet light but blocking visible light, which has been conventionally required for blocking visible light. Is not necessary. Of course, various problems associated with the use of mercury vapor as a medium, that is, high risk of environmental pollution, deterioration of glass tubes and electrodes is unavoidable, or it takes a long time for the brightness to stabilize immediately after lighting. Such a problem is eliminated or reduced.
[0032]
In the ultraviolet surface light source according to the present invention, the fluorescent lamp is replaced with a block-like glass or plastic instead of using a heat-shrinkable tube for insulation between the electrodes of the fluorescent lamp having an external electrode structure and ensuring safety. It is embedded in the inside. Some glass and plastic have ultraviolet transparency. Therefore, by selecting such glass or plastic having ultraviolet transparency and using it for the light extraction part, in the external electrode type fluorescent lamp having a structure in which the fluorescent lamp is covered with the conventional heat shrinkable tube, the heat shrinkable tube is not provided. It can be applied to the use of fluorescent transilluminators, which could not be applied because it does not transmit ultraviolet rays.
[0033]
Since the fluorescent lamp is embedded in a block-like insulator, when the ultraviolet surface light source according to the present invention is used as a fluorescent transilluminator, the electrophoresis gel 10 (see FIG. 2) is extracted. It can be mounted directly on the side insulating block 3. Therefore, in the extreme case, the housing which has been conventionally required is unnecessary, and the structure is simplified.
[0034]
In the ultraviolet surface light source according to the present invention, the electrodes of an aperture type and a straight tube type fluorescent lamp having an external electrode structure are provided not on the arc tube 5 but on the insulating block 2. Thereby, compared with the conventional manufacturing method which affixes an electrode to a glass tube, formation of an external electrode becomes easy and the position shift and peeling of an electrode decrease.
[0035]
When the ultraviolet surface light source according to the present invention is used for a fluorescent transilluminator, it is preferable to use a gadolinium (Gd) activated ultraviolet light emitting phosphor as the UV-B light emitting ultraviolet phosphor. As described above, other ultraviolet phosphors in this region include, for example, (Ca, Zn) ₃ (PO ₄ ) ₂ : Tl phosphor and Ca ₃ (PO ₄ ) ₂ : Tl phosphor. Although it can be used, gadolinium (Gd) -activated ultraviolet light-emitting phosphors have higher emission intensity and sharper spectra than these phosphors.
[0036]
In the embodiments, the structure for switching between UV-B and UV-A has been described as an example. However, the combination of emission wavelengths is not limited to these two types, and combinations of other wavelength regions may be used. Good. Furthermore, instead of two types, for example, UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C may be switched in three types of wavelength regions, and more visible light such as white light is added. It may be possible to emit light of the wavelength. For example, even in the case of ultraviolet light in the same UV-B region, the composition of the phosphor may be changed so that the wavelength of the emitted light is different in the UV-B region.
[0037]
In the ultraviolet surface light source according to the present invention, it is not necessary that all the fluorescent lamps constituting the light source emit light having different wavelengths. There may be multiple ones that emit the same wavelength. In that case, fluorescent lamps that emit light of the same wavelength are turned on simultaneously.
[0038]
In the embodiments, the case of using the fluorescent transilluminator of the electrophoresis apparatus has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it can be used as a light source for curing an ultraviolet curable resin, which is often used in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices such as LSI and passive electronic components such as capacitors.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in an ultraviolet surface light source having a structure in which a plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps including those that emit ultraviolet light are arranged as a surface light source, an aperture is formed in the straight tube ultraviolet fluorescent lamp. It is possible to use a mercury-less rare gas ultraviolet fluorescent lamp having a shaped external electrode structure.
[0040]
The present invention also facilitates the formation of an external electrode, particularly in the production of a straight tube type rare gas fluorescent lamp having an aperture type external electrode structure constituting the ultraviolet surface light source.
[0041]
The present invention is particularly effective when used for a fluorescent transilluminator.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ultraviolet surface light source according to an embodiment of the present invention and a diagram showing a disassembled state in a sectional view.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view and a sectional view of a conventional fluorescent transilluminator.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a straight tube fluorescent lamp having an aperture type and an external electrode structure.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fluorescent lamp 2 Electrode side insulation block 3 Light extraction side insulation block 4A, 4B External electrode 5 Arc tube 6A, 6B Inverter 12 Noble gas 15A, 15B Gap SW switch

Claims (9)

All are straight tube fluorescent lamps that have an aperture-type external electrode structure and use only a rare gas that does not contain mercury as a discharge medium. A solid insulator block located on the aperture side of the fluorescent lamp to be in close contact with and holding the straight tube fluorescent lamp, and located on the opposite side of the aperture to be in close contact with the straight tube fluorescent lamp The plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps have a structure sandwiched between solid insulating blocks that hold them, and the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps emit light from only ultraviolet light, and the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps emit light. Means for selectively switching on and turning on the wavelength ,
Of the two insulating blocks, the block located on the aperture side of the straight tube fluorescent lamp is composed of a material having at least ultraviolet light transmission,
An ultraviolet surface light source characterized in that an external electrode of the straight tube fluorescent lamp is provided on a block located on a side opposite to the aperture of the two insulating blocks . A plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps having an aperture type external electrode structure are arranged to constitute a surface light source, and the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps include a straight tube fluorescent lamp that emits only ultraviolet light . An ultraviolet surface light source,
A plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps fitted in one plane, each having a plurality of parallel-arranged grooves having an arcuate cross section, and a straight tube fluorescent lamp fitted in the groove on the inner wall of each groove An insulating block that holds the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps from a side opposite to the aperture side of the external electrode, in a structure in which two strip-shaped conductors to be external electrodes are formed,
An arc tube fitted into the groove of the insulating block, in which a mercury-free rare gas as a discharge medium is sealed, a phosphor layer is formed on the inner wall, and the groove of the insulating block A straight tube fluorescent lamp having the aperture-type external electrode structure is formed in close contact with a strip-shaped conductor formed on the inner wall, and emits light having a wavelength corresponding to the phosphor layer formed on the inner wall. Arc tube to
In close contact with one surface of the said insulating block, a plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamp comprising a light-transmitting block to hold the aperture side of the external electrodes made of a material having at least ultraviolet permeability, one of the insulating block On the surface in contact with the flat surface, an ultraviolet-transmitting light-transmitting block having a plurality of parallel grooves with an arc-shaped cross section that is in close contact with each straight tube fluorescent lamp,
Means for selectively switching the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps according to their emission wavelengths . 3. The ultraviolet surface light source according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of straight tube fluorescent lamps include a plurality of types of ultraviolet light emitting fluorescent lamps having different wavelengths of emitted ultraviolet light. 4. Said plural kinds of ultraviolet light-emitting fluorescent lamp, characterized in that the radiation ultraviolet light comprises a UV-A band, two or more ultraviolet fluorescent lamp belonging to any different wavelength bands of UV-B band or UV-C band The ultraviolet surface light source according to claim 3 . The ultraviolet surface light source according to claim 4 , wherein a gadolinium activated phosphor is used as a phosphor of a straight tube fluorescent lamp that emits ultraviolet light having a wavelength belonging to the UV-B band. 3. The ultraviolet surface light source according to claim 2 , wherein the thickness of the conductor constituting the external electrode of the straight tube fluorescent lamp is 100 [mu] m or more. 3. The ultraviolet surface light source according to claim 2 , wherein the translucent block is made of a plastic having at least ultraviolet transparency. In the fluorescence transilluminator having a structure in which the ultraviolet light source is incorporated and the electrophoresis gel is irradiated with the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light source,
A fluorescent transilluminator characterized in that the ultraviolet light source according to claim 2 is used as the ultraviolet light source, and the electrophoretic gel is directly mounted on a light transmitting block of the ultraviolet light source. A method of manufacturing the ultraviolet surface light source according to claim 2,
Forming the insulating block;
Forming the arc tube;
Forming the translucent block;
A method of manufacturing an ultraviolet surface light source, comprising: fitting an arc tube into a groove of the insulating block;

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