A mercury-free, low-infrared, efficient lamp has been developed using proprietary, benign lamp-fills optimized for visible light. The project will investigate lamp-fill parameter variations with the goal of optimizing the lamp's spectral output and efficacy (efficiency) for plant growth while maintaining its non-toxic and low infrared properties. The lamp's spectral output will be improved to include substantial blue, red, and far-red components required by many plants. The new lamp is a microwave- powered, bright, long-lived, stable, light source with a continuous, visible spectrum. Other benefits include its small size and spherical shape which provide ease of optical control, and its reduced IR- and UV-radiated outputs which are significantly lower than most discharge lamps. The company will perform energy balances for various benign lamp-fills and lamp parameters. In an iterative process, electrical, thermal, and optical variables, including lamp spectra, will be measured. Potentially successful candidate lamp-fills and parameters will be cataloged using spectral guidelines obtained from NASA scientists. A successful Phase I effort should lead to Phase II production of efficient, low-infrared, non-toxic lamps and lamp- system components for NASA's plant growth requirements.
Potential Commercial Applications:Commercial applications for this plant growth lighting innovation are in three areas: experimental plant growth chambers in use at colleges, bio- technology concerns, and government; enclosed, artificially lighted plant growth factories pioneered in this country and now in use primarily in Japan; and supplementary, early season lighting for commercial nurseries and farms.
