Patent ID: 8344625

Claim:
A plasma lamp comprising: a body comprising at least a dielectric material and having at least a main part with a first surface and a second surface opposed to the first surface; a feed inserted through the first surface into the main part of the body and configured to provide radio frequency energy to the body; a protruding portion of the dielectric material surrounding a periphery of a bulb, the bulb comprising a first end, a second end, and a spatial region between the first end and the second end, and a predefined volume, the bulb enclosing a gas fill positioned to receive the radio frequency energy from the body such that a substantial portion of the electric field is provided within a vicinity of the spatial region, the second surface coated with an electrically conductive material; a shaped or rounded edge characterizing the protruding portion; and at least a portion of the bulb enclosing the gas fill positioned above the main part of the body adjacent to the second surface and an rf power source coupled to the second surface to provide radio frequency energy to the body to cause the gas fill to emit a substantial portion of electromagnetic radiation of at least a determined amount of lumens per watt through a portion of the spatial region.