KR100732316B1 - Excimer lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

In the long excimer lamp having the double tube structure having the outer tube and the inner tube coaxially arranged at one end, the inner tube is prevented from large bending, so that the illuminance distribution is uniform, the illuminance retention rate is high, It is an object of the present invention to provide an excimer lamp in which sidewall portions are not broken by vibrations or shocks generated during handling.

A chamber filled with a discharge vessel having a side wall portion formed at an end on the opening side of the outer tube and the inner tube and coaxially disposed with the outer tube and the inner tube whose one end is sealed and the other end thereof; A dedicated gas and a pair of electrodes disposed out of the discharge space and facing each other via the discharge space, wherein the discharge container has at least one support means for supporting the inner tube, The supporting means is fixed to either the outer tube or the inner tube, and has a gap between the supporting means and the other tube.

Description

Excimer lamp {EXCIMER LAMP}

1 is a cross-sectional view of an excimer lamp of a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a view for explaining the support means.

3 is an enlarged view of a portion enclosed by a broken line in FIG. 1.

4 is a cross-sectional view of an excimer lamp of another form of the first embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view of an excimer lamp of another form of the first embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view of an excimer lamp of a second embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a cross-sectional view of an excimer lamp of a third embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a cross-sectional view of an excimer lamp of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional excimer lamp.

10 is a view for explaining a breakage state of the side wall portion.

11 is a cross-sectional view of an excimer lamp of another conventional structure.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

10 excimer lamp 11 outer tube

12 inner tube 13 discharge vessel

14 Sidewalls 15 Space

16 first electrode 17 second electrode                 

18 Discharge space (light emitting part) 40 Excimer lamp

50 excimer lamp 60 excimer lamp

61 Outer tube 62 Inner tube

63 Discharge container 64 Side wall

65 Space 66 First Electrode

67 Second electrode 68 Discharge space (light emitting part)

70 excimer lamp 71 outer tube

72 inner tube 73 discharge vessel

74 Sidewall 75 Space

76 First electrode 77 Second electrode

78 Discharge space (light emitting part) 80 Excimer lamp

81 Outer tube 82 Inner tube

83 Discharge vessel 84 Closure member

85 Space 86 First Electrode

87 Second electrode 88 Discharge space (light emitting part)

90 excimer lamp 91 outer tube

92 Inner Tube 93 Discharge Container

94 Sidewalls 95 Spaces

96 First electrode 97 Second electrode

98 Discharge space (light emitting part) 110 Excimer lamp                 

111 Outer tube 112 Inner tube

113 Discharge vessel 114 Side wall

115 Space 116 First electrode

117 Second electrode 118 Discharge space (light emitting part)

G Discharge Gap T Deflection

The present invention relates to an excimer lamp having, for example, a double tube structure in which an outer tube and an inner tube are coaxially arranged with each other as a discharge lamp used as an ultraviolet light source for photochemical reaction.

The excimer lamp has a characteristic of strongly radiating vacuum ultraviolet light of a single wavelength, and it is known that in an excimer lamp using, for example, xenon gas as a discharge gas, vacuum ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 172 nm is emitted. In the case of the krypton-chlorine mixed gas, ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 222 nm is emitted. The light of various wavelengths can be radiated by changing the gas for discharge in a discharge container. For example, the light irradiation apparatus equipped with the xenon excimer lamp is mainly used for the decomposition | removal removal of the organic substance adhering to the panel substrate surface of a liquid crystal panel display element, the surface modification of a panel substrate, etc.

9 shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional excimer lamp 90 cut in the tube axis direction.

The excimer lamp 90 constitutes a discharge vessel 93 having a double tube structure in which the outer tube 91 and the inner tube 92 are disposed coaxially, and an end portion of the outer tube 91 and an end portion of the inner tube 92. The side wall part 94 is formed by welding. The space 95 in the discharge vessel 93 is filled with, for example, xenon gas as a discharge gas. The first electrode 96 is provided outside the outer tube 91, and the second electrode 97 is provided inside the inner tube 92. By applying a high frequency voltage between the first electrode 96 and the second electrode 97, excimer molecules are formed in the discharge space 98 (light emitting portion), and the excimer molecules dissociate to emit xenon excimer light. .

In recent years, as the substrate of a liquid crystal panel display element becomes large, the long excimer lamp whose total length exceeds 800 mm, for example is calculated | required.

However, the excimer lamp having the structure as shown in FIG. 9 has a side wall portion 94 in which the outer tube 91 and the inner tube 92 are welded as shown in FIG. 10 when the lamp is lengthened. ) Is broken.

This reason is demonstrated concretely below. The excimer lamp having the structure as shown in FIG. 9 is, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent No. 2,777,312 and Japanese Patent No. 2528244, in order to prevent the luminous efficiency from being lowered by increasing the temperature of the discharge gas or the discharge vessel. And means for cooling the discharge gas or the discharge vessel are provided. For this reason, since a considerable temperature difference arises in an outer side pipe | tube and an inner side pipe | tube, and the length which extends by thermal expansion of each of an outer side pipe | tube and an inner side pipe differs, it is estimated that a stress generate | occur | produces in a side wall part. That is, when the temperature of the inner tube is higher than that of the outer tube, the length of the inner tube is elongated by the thermal expansion, so that the side wall portion generates a force pressed against the inner tube and a tension to the outer tube. It is assumed that a force is created to transform wealth.

Here, it is estimated that there are two causes of stress generation in the side wall portion when the lamp is turned on for a long time. The first cause is due to the temperature difference between the outer tube and the inner tube as described above, and the second cause is due to the ultraviolet distortion accumulated in proportion to the lighting time of the lamp. When the sum of the stresses generated by the two causes reaches a certain value, it is estimated that the side wall portion of the excimer lamp is broken.

Therefore, the lamp having the cooling means described in Japanese Patent No. 2783712 or Japanese Patent No. 2528244 has a larger temperature difference between the outer tube and the inner tube at the time of lighting than the lamp without the cooling means. The stress generated by this increases. Therefore, when the lamp is turned on for example for about 700 to 900 hours, the sum of the stresses generated by the two causes reaches a certain value, and the side wall of the lamp is broken, so that there is a problem that a desired service life cannot be obtained. In particular, this problem occurs frequently in long lamps such as the total length exceeds 800 mm.

In order to solve this problem, it is assumed that an excimer lamp having a structure in which only one end of the inner tube is fixed is effective. The specific structure is shown in FIG. 11 below.

11 shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional excimer lamp 110 having a different structure cut in the tube axis direction.                         

The excimer lamp 110 constitutes a discharge vessel 113 having a double tube structure in which an outer tube 111 and an inner tube 112 having a structure in which one end is sealed and the other end are opened in a coaxial direction, and the outer tube 111 The side wall part 114 is formed by welding the edge part of the opening side of () and the end part of the opening side of the inner side pipe 112. In the space 115 in the discharge vessel 113, for example, xenon gas is sealed as a gas for discharge. The first electrode 116 is provided outside the outer tube 111, and the second electrode 117 is provided inside the inner tube 112. By applying a high frequency voltage between the first electrode 116 and the second electrode 117, excimer molecules are formed in the discharge space 118 (light emitting portion), and the excimer molecules dissociate to emit xenon excimer light. .

The excimer lamp 110 shown in FIG. 11 has a structure in which only an end of the opening side of the inner tube 112 is fixed. According to this structure, the temperature difference occurs in the outer tube and the inner tube as described above, and the problem of premature failure of the side wall portion due to the difference in the amount of extension of the outer tube and the inner tube due to thermal expansion is assumed. do.

However, according to the excimer lamp having such a structure, when the lamp is lengthened, there is a problem that the unevenness of illumination occurs or the life characteristics of the portion where the discharge gap is narrowed are deteriorated.

Specifically, when the lamp is lengthened, the inner tube is largely bent by its own weight, so that the proper discharge gap cannot be maintained. In particular, when the amount of warpage of the inner tube reaches 0.5 times or more of the discharge gap, discharge occurs only in a portion where the discharge gap is narrowed, resulting in unevenness in illumination. In addition, since excessive power is applied to this portion, the illuminance retention rate is lowered early, so that a desired service life cannot be obtained.

In addition, vibration or shock generated during transportation or handling of the lamp also causes a problem of damage to the root portion of the inner tube, that is, the side wall portion.

Specifically, since only one end of the inner tube is fixed, when the vibration or shock is applied, the tip of the inner tube on the side that is not fixed is greatly cut off. Since the amount of warpage of the inner tube is larger than that at which both ends are fixed, a large stress is generated in the side wall portion fixing the inner tube. Therefore, it is guessed that a side wall part is damaged only by applying a slight vibration or an impact.

<Patent Document 1>

Japanese Patent No. 2783712

<Patent Document 2>

Japanese Patent No. 2528244

An object of the present invention is to arrange an outer tube and an inner tube coaxially, so that in a long excimer lamp having a double tube structure having a side wall portion formed at one end thereof, the side wall portion is not broken by lamp lighting for a short time, and the inner tube is large. It is to provide an excimer lamp having a uniform illuminance distribution, a high illuminance maintenance ratio, and a side wall portion not to be damaged by vibration or shock generated during lamp transportation or handling by preventing warping.

In order to solve the above problem, the excimer lamp of the invention of claim 1 has a side wall portion formed at an end of the outer side and the inner side of the inner side of the inner side of the outer side and the inner side of the outer side of the inner side of the tube. A discharge container, a discharge gas filled in a discharge space formed in the discharge container, and at least one of the pair of electrodes disposed out of the discharge space to face each other via the discharge space, wherein the discharge container is in the inner side; At least one supporting means for supporting the tube, the supporting means being fixed to either the outer tube or the inner tube, and having a gap between the supporting means and the other tube; do.

In addition, the excimer lamp of the invention of claim 2 has a discharge container having a side wall formed at an end of the outer side and the inner side of the inner side of the outer side and the inner side of the inner side of the outer side and the inner side of the tube. A discharge gas filled in the discharge space formed in the discharge container, and at least one of the pair of electrodes disposed out of the discharge space to face each other via the discharge space, wherein the discharge container is configured to support the inner tube. It has at least one support means, This support means is formed by deforming either one of the said outer side pipe | tube or the said inner side pipe | tube, It is characterized by having a space | gap between this support means and the other pipe | tube.

The excimer lamp of the invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the thickness of the side wall portion is larger than the thickness of the inner tube.

<Action>

According to the excimer lamp which concerns on this invention, the discharge container is a structure in which the side wall part which welded the outer side pipe | tube and the inner side pipe | tube was formed only in the edge part of one side. Therefore, such as an excimer lamp having a discharge container having sidewall portions formed at both ends shown in FIG. 9, when a lamp is turned on, a temperature difference occurs between the inner tube and the outer tube, and the stress due to the difference in the amount of stretching due to the respective thermal expansion is different. It does not occur in a side wall part. In addition, since the support means is provided in the discharge vessel, the inner tube is not greatly bent due to its own weight, and the discharge gap is not too narrowed, so that a uniform illuminance distribution can be obtained and the illuminance retention rate is not lowered. In addition, even if vibration or impact is applied, the inner tube does not bend much, and large stress is not generated in the side wall portion.

As a result, a lamp with a long service life can be produced even in a long lamp. In addition, it is possible to prevent the lamp from being damaged by vibration or shock generated when the lamp is transported or handled.

1 is a view for explaining an excimer lamp 10 which is a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 1A shows a cross-sectional view of the excimer lamp 10 cut in the tube axis direction. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A 'in FIG.

The excimer lamp 10 constitutes a discharge vessel 13 having a double tube structure in which an outer tube 11 and an inner tube 12 having a structure in which one end is sealed and the other end are opened in a coaxial direction are arranged, and the outer tube 11 The side wall part 14 is formed by welding the edge part of the opening side of () and the edge part of the opening side of the inner side pipe | tube 12 by welding. The space 15 in the discharge vessel 13 is filled with, for example, xenon gas as a gas for discharge. The first electrode 16 is provided outside the outer tube 11, and the second electrode 17 is provided inside the inner tube 12. By applying a high frequency voltage between the first electrode 16 and the second electrode 17, excimer molecules are formed in the discharge space 18 (light emitting portion), and the excimer molecules dissociate to emit xenon excimer light. The supporting means 100 is attached to the outer tube 11 by welding.

In the excimer lamp 10, the inner tube 12 is bent and supported by the support means 100 provided in the outer tube 11 by bending at its own weight. Here, having a gap between the support means 100 and the inner tube 12 may be in contact with the support means 100 and the inner tube 12, and the support means 100 and the inner tube 12 may be in contact with each other. The state in which the space | gap G exists in at least one part between and is shown.

With reference to FIG. 1, the specific numerical example of the excimer lamp 10 is demonstrated below.

<Excimer lamp 10>

Overall length, outer diameter, and thickness of the outer tube 11: 800 mm, 40 mm, 2 mm

Overall length, outer diameter, and thickness of the inner tube 12: 780mm, 16mm, 1mm

Thickness of the side wall portion 14: 1mm

Axial length of the discharge space 18: 720mm

2 is a diagram for explaining the support means 100. As the support means 100 shown in Fig. 2 (a), a donut-shaped disk having a through hole 101 through which the inner tube 12 can be used is used. Thereby, the inner side pipe | tube 12 can be supported in any direction in which the lamp is arrange | positioned at the time of the transportation of the excimer lamp 10, or handling.

In addition, in the case where the direction of light emission is limited and the transport or handling is carried out in a fixed state in a fixed direction, the semicircular plate may be used since the supporting means only has to be provided in the direction in which the inner tube is bent.                     

The diameter of the through hole provided in the disc in Fig. 2 (a) is different depending on the size of the inner tube 12, but the inner tube 12 is bent to its own weight to abut the edge of the through hole 101 formed in the disc. You need to decide.

In addition, when the inner tube 12 has a long inner diameter and the deflection in the tube diameter direction by its own weight is large, the diameter of the through hole 101 formed in the disc is less than half of the discharge gap. It is necessary to make the size as follows. This is described in detail in FIG. 3 below.

3 is an enlarged view of a portion B enclosed by a dotted line in FIG. 1. The solid line portion shows the inner tube 12 spanned by its own weight, and the diagonal line portion shows the inner tube 12 'arranged around the central axis X of the outer tube 11.

In FIG. 3, the distance G between the outer surface of the inner tube 12 ′ and the inner surface of the outer tube 11 is the discharge gap G. In FIG. The distance T between the outer surface of the inner tube 12 'and the position a corresponding to the shortest portion of the second electrode 17 in the inner tube 12 is the amount of warpage T in the tube radial direction. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the diameter of the through-hole formed in the disc which should be the support means 100 so that the bending amount T of the inner side pipe | tube 12 becomes T <0.5G.

In the excimer lamp 10 of the numerical example, the diameter of the through hole formed in the disk to be the support means 100 is approximately 17 to 27 mm, and preferably 17 to 21 mm.

It is preferable that the thickness of the disc which should be the supporting means 100 is 1 mm or more. If it is smaller than 1 mm, there is a problem in terms of mechanical strength.                     

Although the material of the disc which should be the support means 100 is not specifically limited, For the reason of being easy to weld and fix easily, the same material as the discharge container to fix is preferable, and in this case, it is preferable that it is quartz glass.

Since the disc to be the support means 100 only supports the tip of the inner tube, when the disc is installed in the discharging part, only the part where the disc is installed is not discharged, thereby decreasing the illuminance. It is preferable to install on the outside.

According to such an excimer lamp 10, since the inner tube 12 weighed by its own weight is supported by the supporting means 100 in advance, the inner tube 12 does not bend much. Thereby, since a discharge gap does not become narrow too much, a uniform illuminance distribution is obtained and excess power is supplied to the part where the discharge gap was narrowed, and the illuminance maintenance rate does not fall. In addition, it is possible to prevent damage to the side wall portion 14 due to vibration or shock generated during lamp transportation or handling.

In addition, since the excimer lamp 10 of the present invention has a structure in which the side wall portion 14 is formed only at an end of one side of the discharge vessel 13, the lamp is turned on between the outer tube 11 and the inner tube 12 when the lamp is turned on. By generating a temperature difference, even if the amount which extends by each thermal expansion differs, the stress does not generate | occur | produce in the side wall part 14. FIG. Thereby, a lamp with a long service life can be manufactured.

4 is a diagram for explaining an excimer lamp 40 which is another form in the first embodiment of the present invention. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of the excimer lamp 40 cut in the tube axis direction. Fig. 4B is a cross-sectional view along the line A-A 'in Fig. 4A. The same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 denote the same parts, and thus descriptions thereof will be omitted.

In the excimer lamp 40, the support means 400 is attached to the inner tube 12 by welding. The support means 400 provided in the inner tube 12 is in contact with the outer tube 11 by the inner tube 12 being bent. Here, having the space between the support means 400 and the outer tube 11 may be such that the support means 400 and the outer tube 11 may be in contact with each other, and the support means 400 and the outer tube 12 may be in contact with each other. The state in which the space | gap G exists in at least one part between and is shown. As described above, the outer diameter of the disc to be the support means 400 needs to be determined so that the deflection amount T of the inner tube 12 satisfies T < 0.5G.

Here, another form of a support means is demonstrated with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the inner tube 12 is deformed to form a substantially wavy large diameter portion 102 or a substantially columnar large diameter portion 103 as a supporting means. do. In addition, although not shown in figure, by contracting the diameter of the outer side pipe | tube 11, you may make it a support means as shown to FIG.2 (b), (c).

In addition, by using the support means having the structure as shown in Figs. 2 (a), (b) and (c) in Figs. 1 and 4, the support means and the inner or outer tube and If the gap between the two is small, the resistance when gas passes through the gap increases, so that when the inside of the discharge vessel is vacuumed once in the gas encapsulation step into the discharge vessel, it takes a long time to reach the desired degree of vacuum. .

In this case, another form of the effective supporting means will be described with reference to Figs. 2 (d) and (e). As for the support means 100 shown to FIG.2 (d), (e), the hole 104 and the sawtooth groove 105 are provided.

By using such a support means, gas filling operation can be completed in a short time.

5 is a view for explaining an excimer lamp 50 which is another form in the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5A shows a cross-sectional view of the excimer lamp 50 cut in the tube axis direction. FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view along the line AA ′ in FIG. 5A. The same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 denote the same parts, and thus descriptions thereof are omitted.

The support means 500 attached to the outer tube 11 by welding in the excimer lamp 50 does not normally contact the inner tube 12 even when the inner tube 12 is bent at its own weight. A gap G exists between the support means 500 and the inner tube 12. And the inner side pipe | tube 12 is supported by the support means 500 when it is further shocked by the vibration and the shock which generate | occur | produce at the time of conveyance or handling of a lamp.

Here, the diameter of the through-hole provided in the disc which should be the support means 500 is the inner tube 12 even when the inner tube 12 is further bent by vibration or shock applied to the lamp during transportation or handling of the lamp. It is necessary to determine so that the warp amount T of the i) satisfies the above T < 0.5G.

In addition, the support means 500 can also be installed in the inner tube 12 with reference to FIG.

When the excimer lamp is further elongated, for example, when the total length exceeds 100 mm, as a structure in which the supporting means as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5 only support the vicinity of the tip of the inner tube, There is a possibility that the deflection of the inner tube cannot be sufficiently prevented. Specifically, there is a possibility of wheels between the portion where the inner tube is fixed at the side wall portion and the portion supported by the supporting means. A particularly effective embodiment for this excimer lamp is shown in FIG. 6 below.

Fig. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the excimer lamp 60 which is the second embodiment of the present invention cut in the tube axis direction.

The excimer lamp 60 constitutes the outer tube 61 of the structure in which one end is sealed and the other end is opened, and the discharge vessel 63 of the double tube structure in which the inner tube 62 is disposed in the coaxial direction, and the outer tube 61. The side wall part 64 is formed by welding the edge part of the opening side of the opening side, and the edge part of the opening side of the inner side pipe | tube 62 to be welded. In the space 65 in the discharge vessel 63, for example, xenon gas is sealed as a gas for discharge. The first electrode 66 is provided outside the outer tube 61, and the second electrode 67 is provided inside the inner tube 62. By applying a high frequency voltage between the first electrode 66 and the second electrode 67, excimer molecules are formed in the discharge space 68 (light emitting portion), and the excimer molecules dissociate to emit xenon excimer light.

The inner tube 62 weighed by the excimer lamp 60 by its own weight is in contact with two supporting means 600a and 600b mounted by welding to the outer tube 61. The support means 600a is provided in order to support the vicinity of the front end of the inner side pipe 62, and the support means 600b is provided in order to support the vicinity of the center part of the inner side pipe 62. As shown in FIG.

The diameter of the through-hole formed in the disc which should be the supporting means 600a and 600b needs to be determined so that the deflection amount T of the inner side pipe 62 may satisfy T <0.5G mentioned above as mentioned above.

The vicinity of the central portion does not necessarily have to be a position corresponding to half of the entire length of the inner tube starting from the side wall portion. It is known that the bending of an ideal beam in which one end is fixedly supported and the other end is freely bent at a position corresponding to 5/8 of the total length of the beam relative to the fixed support end is known. Since the inner tube 62 is in a supporting state close thereto, it is estimated that the inner tube 62 is most swelled at a position corresponding to 5/8 of the entire length of the inner tube 62 with respect to the side wall portion 64. Therefore, the supporting means 600b is most effective to be arranged at a position corresponding to 5/8 of the entire length of the inner tube 62 with respect to the side wall portion 64, but based on the side wall portion 64 Even if it arrange | positions in the position corresponded to 3/8-7/8 of the full length of the inner side pipe 62, it is effective.

With reference to FIG. 6, the specific value of the excimer lamp 60 is demonstrated.

 <Excimer lamp 60>

Overall length, outer diameter, and thickness of the outer tube 61: 1000mm, 40mm, 2mm

Overall length, outer diameter, and thickness of the inner tube 62: 980mm, 16mm, 1mm

Thickness of the side wall portion 64: 1mm

Axial length of the discharge space 68: 920 mm

Distance from side wall of each support means: 500mm, 960mm

According to such an excimer lamp 60, even in the lamp whose total length exceeds 1000 mm, since the center part of the inner side pipe 62 is supported by the support means 600b, the inner side pipe 62 does not bend large. Thereby, as described in the excimer lamp 10, uniform illuminance distribution is obtained and illuminance retention improves. In addition, it is possible to prevent the side wall portion 64 from being damaged when the lamp is transported or handled.

In addition, even when the temperature difference occurs between the outer tube 61 and the inner tube 62 when the lamp is turned on, and the amount of stretching due to thermal expansion differs, the side wall portion 14 does not generate stress. It is possible to manufacture a lamp with a long service life.

In addition, with reference to FIG. 4 in the second embodiment, two support means may be provided in the inner tube.

In addition, with reference to FIG. 5, the structure which both the support means 600a and 600b shown in FIG. 6 do not contact with the inner side pipe 62 beforehand can also be employ | adopted.

In addition, either of the support means 600a, 600b shown in FIG. 6 may have the structure which abuts the inner side pipe 62. As shown in FIG.

In the case where the excimer lamp is further elongated and the total length exceeds 1800 mm, for example, the support means as shown in Fig. 6 supports only the front end portion of the inner tube and the vicinity of the center portion of the inner tube. There is a possibility that it cannot be prevented sufficiently. A particularly effective embodiment for this excimer lamp is shown in FIG. 7 below.

Fig. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the excimer lamp 70 which is the third embodiment of the present invention cut in the tube axis direction.

The excimer lamp 70 constitutes the outer tube 71 of the structure in which one end is sealed and the other end is opened, and the discharge vessel 73 of the double tube structure in which the inner tube 72 is coaxially arranged, and the outer tube 71 The side wall part 74 is formed by welding the edge part of the opening side of the opening side, and the edge part of the opening side of the inner side pipe | tube 72 by welding. In the space 75 in the discharge vessel 73, for example, xenon gas is sealed as a gas for discharge. The first electrode 76 is provided outside the outer tube 71, and the second electrode 77 is provided inside the inner tube 72. By applying a high frequency voltage between the first electrode 76 and the second electrode 77, excimer molecules are formed in the discharge space 78 (light emitting portion), and the excimer molecules dissociate to emit xenon excimer light.

The inner tube 72 weighed by the excimer lamp 70 by its own weight is in contact with the four supporting means 700a, 700b, 700c, and 700d attached to the outer tube 71 by welding. The supporting means 700a is provided to support the vicinity of the tip end of the inner tube 72, and the supporting means 700b, 700c, and 700d are arranged so that the respective intervals are within 800 mm.

The diameter of the through hole formed in the disc, which should be the supporting means 700a, 700b, 700c, and 700d, needs to be determined so that the deflection amount T of the inner tube 72 satisfies the above T <0.5G as described above. There is.

The support means 700a, 700b, 700c, and 700d do not necessarily have to be arranged at equal intervals, and may be arranged so that the respective intervals are within 800 mm so that the inner tube 72 does not bend between the support means.

In addition, although four support means are provided in FIG. 7, the number can be suitably determined according to the length of an inner side pipe | tube.

The specific value of the excimer lamp 70 is demonstrated with reference to FIG.                     

 <Excimer lamp 70>

Overall length, outer diameter, and thickness of the outer tube 71: 1800mm, 50mm, 2.5mm

Overall length, outer diameter, and thickness of the inner tube 72: 1780mm, 20mm, 1.5mm

Thickness of the side wall portion 74: 1.5 mm

Axial length of the discharge space 78: 1720mm

Axial spacing of each supporting means: 440mm

According to such an excimer lamp 70, even if the excimer lamp has a total length exceeding, for example, 2000 mm, four supporting means 700a, 700b, 700c, 700d provided with an inner tube 72 weighed by its own weight are provided on the outer tube 71. ), And the inner tube 72 does not bend large.

Thereby, as described in the excimer lamp 10, uniform illuminance distribution is obtained and illuminance retention improves. In addition, it is possible to prevent the side wall portion 74 from being damaged during lamp transportation or handling.

In addition, even when the temperature difference between the outer tube 71 and the inner tube 72 at the time of lamp lighting and the amount of extension due to the thermal expansion are different, the stress is not generated in the side wall portion 74. Long life lamps can be produced.

In addition, in the third embodiment, four supporting means 700a, 700b, 700c, and 700d may be installed in the inner tube 72 with reference to FIG. 4.

In addition, with reference to FIG. 5, the structure which four support means 700a, 700b, 700c, 700d shown in FIG. 7 do not contact with the inner side pipe 62 may be employ | adopted previously.                     

In addition, only any one of the four support means 700a, 700b, 700c, and 700d shown in FIG. 7 may have the structure which abuts the inner side pipe 62. As shown in FIG. Of course, any two or any three may have a structure in contact with the inner tube (62).

According to the excimer lamp 70 shown in FIG. 7, since the inner pipe | tube 72 is very long, it is estimated that considerable stress generate | occur | produces in the side wall part 74. As shown in FIG. The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 below is particularly effective for an excimer lamp having a very large overall length, such as the excimer lamp 70.

Fig. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the excimer lamp 80, which is the fourth embodiment of the present invention, cut in the tube axis direction.

In FIG. 8, the discharge vessel 83 has a double tube structure in which the outer tube 81 and the inner tube 82 are coaxially arranged with one end sealed and the other end opened, and the outer tube 81 and the inner tube ( The end part of each opening side of 82 is joined to the blocking member 84 formed on the surface orthogonal to the tube axis direction, and an annular side wall portion is formed at one end of the discharge vessel 83. Support means 800a, 800b, 800c, and 800d for supporting the inner tube 82 are provided in the outer tube 81. The thickness h1 in the tube axis direction of the closure member 84 is larger than the thickness h2 of the inner tube 82. The blocking member 84 is formed of, for example, a disc, the outer diameter of which closely matches the outer diameter of the outer tube 81, and the inner diameter of which substantially matches the inner diameter of the inner tube 82.

With reference to FIG. 8, the specific numerical value of the excimer lamp 80 is demonstrated.

 <Excimer lamp 80>                     

Overall length, outer diameter, and thickness of the outer tube 81: 2000mm, 50mm, 2.5mm

Overall length, outer diameter and thickness of inner tube 82: 1980 mm, 20 mm, 1.5 mm

Thickness of the closure member 84: 3 mm

Axial length of the discharge space 88: 490 mm

According to such excimer lamp 80, since the side wall part 84 is larger than the inner side pipe | tube 82, it has a structure with high mechanical strength. According to this structure, even if a stronger vibration or shock is applied to the lamp during transportation or handling of the lamp, the side wall portion can be prevented from being broken.

The structure according to the fourth embodiment is not limited to the excimer lamp 80, but can also be applied to the excimer lamps 10, 40, 50, 60 and 70.

Further, as another embodiment of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, a discharge vessel may be formed by bonding a glass tube having a thickness to be a side wall portion to an end portion of the opening side of the inner tube and then welding the glass tube and the outer tube having this thickness. . Alternatively, the discharge vessel may be formed by pressing the inner tube to increase the thickness near the end on the opening side and welding the outer tube to the inner side.

In addition, according to the above-described excimer lamps 10, 40, 50, 60, 70, the discharge vessel has a side wall portion formed by welding an end portion on the opening side of the outer tube and an end portion on the opening side of the inner tube. Instead, the side wall portion may be formed by welding an annular member which should be a side wall portion to an end portion on the opening side of the outer tube and an end portion on the opening side of the inner tube.                     

In addition, although the structure of this invention is preferably employ | adopted for the long excimer lamp whose total length is 800 mm or more, it does not exclude that employ | adopting the structure of this invention for the lamp whose total length is less than 800 mm. In the shorter lamp, it is assumed that the above-described problems are unlikely to occur even if the structure of the present invention is not employed. However, when the service life is further increased or roughly handled, for example, when the lamp is used while the lamp is being turned on, the warping of the inner tube can be suppressed and is effective.

Although the structure of the excimer lamp which concerns on 1st Example-4th Example in this specification shows the structure in which both the 1st electrode and the 2nd electrode were arrange | positioned out of the discharge space, the outer surface (outside of discharge space) of an outer side pipe | tube is shown. The structure may be such that the first electrode is arranged at the second electrode and the second electrode is arranged at the outer surface (in the discharge space) of the inner tube. The first electrode may be disposed on the inner surface (in the discharge space) of the outer tube, and the second electrode may be disposed on the inner surface (outside the discharge space) of the inner tube.

In addition, the electrode does not necessarily need to be disposed in close contact with the outer tube or the inner tube, and may be disposed so that a gap exists between the electrode and the outer tube or the inner tube.

In addition, a discharge container may be formed using a cylindrical glass rod instead of the inner tube, and in this case, the second electrode may be provided on the surface of the glass rod.

In addition, as described above, the inner tube of the excimer lamp is most bent at a position corresponding to 5/8 of the entire length of the inner tube relative to the side wall portion, or at a position corresponding to 5/8 between the side wall portion and the support member. However, in the drawing of the excimer lamp which concerns on the 1st Example-4th Example in this specification, it is shown so that it may incline toward the front end of the sealed side from the side wall part for convenience.

According to the excimer lamp of the present invention, the inner tube is supported by the support means provided in the outer tube or the inner tube even if the inner tube is bent by vibration or shock applied to the lamp during its own weight or when the lamp is transported or handled. Thereby, narrowing a discharge gap too much and preventing excessive stress generate | occur | produce in a side wall part can be prevented. Therefore, it is possible to provide a long excimer lamp which is not damaged during transportation or handling, has a uniform illuminance, and a long service life.

Claims (3)

The outer tube and the inner tube whose one end is sealed and the other end are opened are arranged coaxially, and have side wall portions formed at the ends of the opening side of the outer tube and the inner tube, and the sealed end of the inner tube is not fixed to the outer tube. A discharge container extending toward the sealed end of the outer tube , a discharge gas charged in the discharge space formed in the discharge container, and at least one of the pair of electrodes disposed out of the discharge space to face each other via the discharge space; In the excimer lamp consisting of, The discharge vessel has support means for supporting the inner tube, and the support means is fixed to either the outer tube or the inner tube and has a gap between the support means and the other tube. Excimer lamp characterized by. A chamber filled with a discharge vessel having a side wall portion formed at an end on the opening side of the outer tube and the inner tube and coaxially disposed with the outer tube and the inner tube whose one end is sealed and the other end thereof; An excimer lamp comprising a dedicated gas and a pair of electrodes disposed outside the discharge space and facing each other via the discharge space, The discharge vessel has a supporting means for supporting the inner tube, which is formed by deforming either the outer tube or the inner tube, and a gap between the supporting means and the other tube. An excimer lamp having a. The excimer lamp according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a thickness of the side wall portion is larger than a thickness of an inner tube.

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