Determination of the voltage distribution in the external electrode fluorescent lamps for the backlight unit of large-size LCD

The voltage distribution of an external electrode fluorescent lamp(EEFL) having a gas pressure of 50 torr and a gas composition of Ne:Ar with a ratio of 90:10 has been estimated by varying the distance between the two external electrodes and monitoring the change of the lamp voltage. The estimated voltage gradient, which represents the electric field in the positive column of the EEFL, was very sensitive to the electrode area of EEFL and was in the range of $13\;{\sim}\;27\;V/cm$ at the electrode length of $15\;{\sim}\;31\;mm$. Changing the lamp current in the range $3\;{\sim}\;5\;mA$ did not make noticeable difference in the electric field of the positive column. Theses results may serve as basic data for the optimization of electric and optic characteristics of EEFL.