Low Temperature Microplasma UV Lighting Tiles for Water Purification and Sterilization

Eden Park Illumination, Inc. will perform research for the development and commercialization of large arrays of microcavity plasmas capable of generating light in the wavelength range of UVB and UVC in a slim and flat form factor. UV light is an efficient light source for a number of chemical processes and disinfection methods available commercially. It is known to be extremely effective for neutralizing pathogens (bacteria, viruses, cysts) and drugs such as hormone regulators that are of increasing concern in municipal water supplies. The primary drawback of conventional UV light sources is their limited form factor and the environmental concerns of their use of mercury. Microplasmas are non-equilibrium, low temperature plasma sources and they have high power loading (several 100 kW/cm3) which enables them to excite gases and form UV generating excimer molecules efficiently. Additionally they contain no toxic substances and the microcavity technology enables them to be nearly as efficient as their mercury-containing counterparts. This Phase I proposal describes leveraging microcavity plasma technology developed at the University of Illinois and Eden Park Illumination to realize low temperature UV flat lamps designed to have a scalable, slim form factor (total thickness less than ~ 4 mm). Each microcavity (having the diameter of a few tens of microns to a few millimeters) will be fabricated on a window substrate by various microfabrication technologies, and its electric field distribution will be tailored by various electrode geometries to reduce the power consumption and generate efficient excitation of emitter gases. UV light tiles capable of producing ~100 mW/cm2 at 172 nm (UVC) from Xe gas will be designed and tested in Phase I, and Phase II will demonstrate several other emitters (molecular) capable of generating photons in various UVB and UVC ranges with active areas as great as one square foot which will be designed and demonstrated for water purification and disinfection.