Excimer lamp

Abstract

The invention provides an excimer lamp. The excimer lamp comprises a discharge container, a first electrode and a second electrode, the discharge vessel has an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to each other, and comprises a light-transmitting body and a discharge gas. The light-transmitting body has a sealed space, and the upper surface and the lower surface are located outside the sealed space. The discharge gas is located in the sealed space. The first electrode is arranged on the upper surface. The material of the first electrode is a metal having a higher luminous reflectance than gold and a higher melting point than gold for the same wavelength region. The second electrode is arranged on the lower surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an excimer lamp. Background Art

[0002] In the design of excimer lamps, there are often many considerations, such as improving the illumination, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, conductivity, oxidation resistance, etc., and these capabilities will directly affect the quality of the excimer lamp. Therefore, how to design an excimer lamp to have good product quality is indeed a challenge. Summary of the invention

[0003] The invention provides an excimer lamp, which has good product quality.

[0004] An excimer lamp of the present invention comprises a discharge container, a first electrode and a second electrode. The discharge container has an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to each other and comprises a light-transmitting body and a discharge gas. The light-transmitting body has a sealed space, and the upper surface and the lower surface are located outside the sealed space. The discharge gas is located in the sealed space. The first electrode is arranged on the upper surface. The material of the first electrode is a metal having a light reflectivity greater than that of gold in the same wavelength region and a melting point greater than that of gold. The second electrode is arranged on the lower surface.

[0005] In one embodiment of the present invention, the metal is platinum.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first electrode is not covered with a protective film.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the discharge vessel comprises a first outer side surface and a second outer side surface connecting the upper surface and the lower surface, and the first electrode completely covers the upper surface between the first outer side surface and the second outer side surface.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first electrode is a lattice structure.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, a first area of ​​the upper surface covered by the first electrode is larger than a second area of ​​the lower surface covered by the second electrode.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, the ratio of the first area to the second area ranges from 5:4 to 4:1.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the first electrode is greater than or equal to 2 micrometers and less than or equal to 5 micrometers.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first electrode and the second electrode are made of the same material.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the material of the second electrode is platinum.

[0014] Based on the above, the present invention is designed at least for the upper electrode of the excimer lamp. By selecting metal materials (metals with better reflectivity and melting point than gold), the upper electrode can effectively improve the illumination and heat resistance of the excimer lamp, thereby making it have good product quality.

[0015] In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, embodiments are given below with reference to the accompanying drawings for detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of an excimer lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of an excimer lamp according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

[0019] In the following detailed description, for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, exemplary embodiments that disclose specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the various principles of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that, with the benefit of this disclosure, the present invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from the specific details disclosed herein. In addition, descriptions of well-known devices, methods, and materials may be omitted to avoid obscuring the description of the various principles of the present invention.

[0020] The following will fully describe exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention may also be implemented in a variety of different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein. In the accompanying drawings, for the sake of clarity, the size and thickness of each region, part, and layer may not be drawn to scale. For ease of understanding, the same elements in the following description will be described with the same symbols.

[0021] The directional terms used herein (eg, up, down, right, left, front, back, top, bottom) are used only with reference to the drawings shown and are not intended to imply an absolute orientation.

[0022] The present invention is more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings of the present embodiment. However, the present invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments described herein. The thickness, size or size of the layers or regions in the accompanying drawings may be exaggerated for clarity. The same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements, and the following paragraphs will not be repeated one by one.

[0023] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

[0024] Figure 1 is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of an excimer lamp according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The excimer lamp 100 of the present embodiment includes a discharge container 110, a first electrode 120, and a second electrode 130, wherein the discharge container 110 has an upper surface 110a and a lower surface 110b opposite to each other and includes a light-transmitting body 111 and a discharge gas 112. In addition, the light-transmitting body 111 has a sealed space 111s in which the discharge gas 112 exists, and the upper surface 110a and the lower surface 110b are located outside the sealed space 111s, wherein the discharge gas 112 is, for example, xenon gas or xenon chloride gas. Different discharge gases 112 can generate excimer light of different wavelengths. For example, if xenon gas is selected as the discharge gas, ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 172 nanometers (nm) can be emitted, or if xenon chloride gas is selected as the discharge gas, ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 308nm can be emitted. Here, the light-transmitting body 111 is made of a light-transmitting medium, wherein the light-transmitting medium is, for example, F-type quartz glass or G-type quartz glass. Both F-type quartz glass and G-type quartz glass are fluorine-containing quartz glass. The thickness of F-type quartz glass is about 2.5 mm, and the thickness of G-type quartz glass is about 3 mm.

[0025] Further, the first electrode 120 is disposed on the upper surface 110a (which can be regarded as the upper electrode), and the second electrode 130 is disposed on the lower surface 110b (which can be regarded as the lower electrode), wherein the material of the first electrode 120 is a metal having a light reflectivity greater than that of gold and a melting point greater than that of gold in the same wavelength region. Accordingly, the present embodiment designs the upper electrode (first electrode 120) of the excimer lamp 100, and through the selection of metal materials (a metal having a reflectivity and a melting point greater than that of gold), the upper electrode (first electrode 120) can effectively improve the illuminance and heat resistance of the excimer lamp 100, so that it has good product quality. Here, due to the excellent reflectivity of the aforementioned material, the first electrode 120 can also be used as a reflective film, thereby simplifying the process and reducing the manufacturing cost, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0026] In some embodiments, the material of the first electrode 120 is metal platinum (Platinum, Pt), so the first electrode 120 can also be called a platinum electrode. As shown in Table 1, the light reflectivity of platinum in the wavelength region greater than or equal to 190 nanometers and less than or equal to 525 nanometers is much better than that of gold (Au) in both F-type quartz glass and G-type quartz glass. Therefore, the platinum electrode can indeed further improve the illuminance of the irradiated surface in this wavelength range compared to the gold electrode. Moreover, since the melting point of platinum is 1768°C, which is also greater than the melting point of gold (about 1065°C), the probability of the temperature having an adverse effect on the electrode can be reduced in subsequent high-temperature processes such as the sintering step and the stress relief step of the welding lamp tube. Therefore, when the material of the first electrode 120 of the excimer lamp 100 is platinum, it has obvious advantages over using gold as the electrode material, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Here, the reflectivity is measured by using an ultraviolet / visible light spectrometer (instrument name: UV / VIS / NIR Spectrometers, brand model: PerklnElmer LAMBDA 900). Here, based on the characteristics of the lamp tube in the wavelength region less than 190 nanometers, it is difficult to accurately measure the reflectivity of the lamp tube. Therefore, a window illumination experiment is conducted using lamp tubes of different metals in the 172 nanometer wavelength region. The experimental results are shown in Table 2. The window illumination of the lamp tube of platinum in the 172 nanometer wavelength region is much better than that of gold (Au) in both F-type quartz glass and G-type quartz glass. Therefore, the platinum electrode can indeed further improve the light illumination of the irradiated surface compared with the gold electrode at this wavelength. The measurement method of the window illumination experiment is to set a grid window on the first electrode 120 outside the excimer lamp 100, and the UV illuminance meter is placed under the window. The 172 nanometer wavelength inside the excimer lamp 100 is reflected back by the external electrode 130 of the excimer lamp 100, and then the 172 nanometer wavelength is received by the illuminance meter through the window to measure the required value.

[0027] Table 1

[0028]

[0029] Table 2

[0030]

[0031] On the other hand, the platinum electrode also has the advantages of high density, inactivity, good corrosion resistance, high conductivity, and good oxidation resistance. Compared with materials such as aluminum and silicon dioxide, when the first electrode 120 is a platinum electrode, it can maintain a certain reflectivity and light intensity (small illumination attenuation rate) under long-term use, thereby increasing the service life of the excimer lamp 100 and maintaining the illumination, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0032] In addition, since aluminum electrodes and nickel electrodes are easily affected by the environment, a protective film must be formed thereon to reduce the probability of oxidation. When the first electrode 120 is a platinum electrode, based on its excellent anti-oxidation property, the first electrode 120 is not covered with a protective film (it can be directly exposed to the atmosphere, acidic or alkaline environment), that is, the steps of forming a protective film can be reduced in the process of manufacturing the excimer lamp 100, thereby achieving the effect of simplifying the process. Therefore, a platinum electrode is selected as the upper electrode, which has excellent capabilities compared to gold, aluminum (aluminum nickel), and nickel as electrode materials, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0033] In the present embodiment, the discharge vessel 110 further includes a first outer side surface 110c and a second outer side surface 110d connecting the upper surface 110a and the lower surface 110b, and the first electrode 120 completely covers the upper surface 110a between the first outer side surface 110c and the second outer side surface 110d, that is, the first electrode 120 is completely formed on the upper surface 110a of the discharge vessel 110. In this way, the first electrode 120 not only has a larger reflection area, but also has a larger heat dissipation area, and can be used as a good heat dissipation member, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0034] On the other hand, the second electrode 130 is a lattice structure (net structure), so that a high voltage can be applied to the first electrode 120 connected to the power supply, so that discharge can be generated in the sealed space 111s inside the discharge container 110 and excimer light can be emitted, so that the excimer light can pass through the gaps of the mesh of the second electrode 130 and be emitted downward, but the present invention is not limited to this. Here, the materials of the first electrode 120 and the second electrode 130 are, for example, the same, such as platinum, so that the excimer lamp 100 can have better quality, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the second electrode 130 can be other suitable electrode materials. Here, the advantages of using platinum as an electrode material are similar to those mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0035] In some embodiments, the thickness 120d of the first electrode 120 is greater than or equal to 2 microns and less than or equal to 5 microns, and the thickness 130d of the second electrode 130 is greater than or equal to 2 microns and less than or equal to 5 microns, but the present invention is not limited thereto, wherein the thickness 120d of the first electrode 120 is the same as or different from the thickness 130d of the second electrode 130.

[0036] In some embodiments, the first electrode 120 and the second electrode 130 are formed by a screen printing process, but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0037] In this embodiment, the excimer lamp 100 also includes a reflective layer 140 arranged on the inner surface of the sealed space 111s of the light-transmitting body 111, wherein the material of the reflective layer 140 is, for example, silicon dioxide or other suitable reflective materials, but the present invention is not limited to this. In embodiments not shown, the reflective layer 140 can be omitted.

[0038] It must be noted here that the following embodiments continue to use the component numbers and some contents of the above-mentioned embodiments, wherein the same or similar numbers are used to represent the same or similar components, and the description of the same technical content is omitted. For the description of the omitted parts, please refer to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the following embodiments will not be repeated.

[0039] Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of an excimer lamp according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 , compared to Figure 1 As for the excimer lamp 100 of the present embodiment, the first electrode 220 of the excimer lamp 200 of the present embodiment is a lattice structure.

[0040] Furthermore, in Figure 1 In the embodiment, the first area (electrode area) covered by the first electrode 120 on the upper surface 110a is larger than the second area covered by the second electrode 130 on the lower surface 110b, and the ratio of the first area to the second area is approximately 4:1. Figure 2 In the embodiment, the first area of ​​the upper surface 110a covered by the first electrode 220 is larger than the second area of ​​the lower surface 110b covered by the second electrode 130, and the ratio of the first area to the second area is approximately 5:4. Therefore, the ratio of the first area to the second area of ​​the present invention can range from 5:4 to 4:1, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0041] In some embodiments, Figure 1 The ratio of the first area to the second area of ​​the embodiment is, for example, 100%:24%, and Figure 2 In the embodiment, the ratio of the first area to the second area is, for example, 30%:24%, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0042] It should be noted that the opening sizes of the lattice structure of the first electrode 220 and the lattice structure of the second electrode 130 are designed, for example, so that the opening ratio of the second electrode 130 is maintained above 75%. Considering the opening ratio and the discharge phenomenon, the electrode shape of the second electrode 130 can be rectangular or square, and the ratio of the long side to the short side of the electrode can be between 2:1 and 1:1, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the design of the opening size can be determined according to actual design requirements.

[0043] In summary, the present invention is designed at least for the upper electrode of the excimer lamp. By selecting metal materials (metals with better reflectivity and melting point than gold), the upper electrode can effectively improve the illumination and heat resistance of the excimer lamp, thereby making it have good product quality.

[0044] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An excimer lamp, characterized in that: include: A discharge vessel having an upper surface and a lower surface facing each other, wherein the discharge vessel comprises: A light-transmitting body, wherein the light-transmitting body has a sealed space, and the upper surface and the lower surface are located outside the sealed space; and Discharging gas, located in the sealed space; A first electrode is disposed on the upper surface, wherein the material of the first electrode is a metal having a higher light reflectivity than gold in the same wavelength region and a higher melting point than gold; and The second electrode is disposed on the lower surface.

2. The excimer lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal is platinum.

3. The excimer lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first electrode is not covered with a protective film.

4. The excimer lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that: The discharge container includes a first outer side surface and a second outer side surface connecting the upper surface and the lower surface, and the first electrode completely covers the upper surface between the first outer side surface and the second outer side surface.

5. The excimer lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first electrode is a lattice structure.

6. The excimer lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first area of ​​the upper surface covered by the first electrode is larger than a second area of ​​the lower surface covered by the second electrode.

7. The excimer lamp according to claim 6, characterized in that: The ratio of the first area to the second area ranges from 5:4 to 4:

1.

8. The excimer lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the first electrode is greater than or equal to 2 micrometers and less than or equal to 5 micrometers.

9. The excimer lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first electrode and the second electrode are made of the same material.

10. The excimer lamp according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the second electrode is platinum.

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