Yesterday Matsushita Electric Works (to be branded as Panasonic from October this year) presented [JP] “the world’s first lighting device”, which – in contrast to existing fluorescent models – doesn’t need mercury to discharge gas. The company even claims their new technology could might one day be as important as LED and OLED.

Matsushita speaks of an environmentally friendly breakthrough. In experiments, the prototype was 50% brighter than existing lamps while consuming the same level of electricity. Instead of fluorescing phosphor with harmful mercury, the new device uses electron-discharging nano silicon to make Xenon gas emit vacuum UV light, which then causes phosphor to fluoresce.

Matsushita will present details of the research to the general public during the 21st International Vacuum Nanoelectronics Conference to be held in Poland from July 13. The technology was developed in cooperation with the Graduate School of Engineering at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.