Fluorescent lamp excitation circuit having a multi-layer piezoelectric acoustic transformer and methods for using the same

摘要

Fluorescent lamp excitation circuits are provided which use a resonating piezoelectric transformer along with complementary circuit components, to efficiently convert a DC first voltage to a transformer- output AC second voltage. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, A High Displacement Piezoelectric (HDP) transformer achieves sufficiently high voltage output to "cold fire" a gas discharge lamp. The disclosed circuit may be modified using conventional electrical sub- circuitry to pre-heat the cathodes of the lamp.