Introducing Cold Cathode Technology by EiKO

The Light Output of a Fluorescent fitting with the lifetime of an LED, less UV emission, and even lower mercury content and total energy consumption can be half that of an equivalent T8 fitting when using the integrated dimming function.

• Instant On

• Dimmable

• Long Life (>50k hours)

• Unlimited Switching (>1 million cycles without degradation)

• Low Mercury

• Low UV

• High Power Factor

• Superior Light Output

• Proven technology, used as backlights for Laptop screens and LCD monitors and televisions

What is Cold Cathode Technology?

Cold Cathode technology was developed over seventy years ago and was the first commercially available form of fluorescent lighting. It is probably most familiar for its use in backlighting the LCD displays of televisions and laptop screens, as well as customised lighting designs.

Cold Cathode operates on the same principle as regular fluorescent tubes in that uses electricity to excite mercury vapor. The excited mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light.

The term Cold Cathode refers to the fact that the cathode is not independently heated, but instead operates at a much higher voltage to cause the same excitement in the mercury vapour rather than the thermionic emission that regular fluorescents use.

The removal of the need to heat the tube allows Cold Cathode to be instant on and provide virtually unlimited switching (~1million on/off cycles) without degradation of the lamps. Without the need for precise electrode temperature the Cold Cathode lamp can be operated at any desired brightness up to their maximum rating so Cold Cathode lamps can be dimmed to any point without damage.

A guide to Cold Cathode Lighting can be downloaded here.

Alternatively click for more details on

• EIKO Cold Cathode Fittings

• EiKO Cold Cathode Retrofit T8

• EiKO Cold Cathode Spiral Lamps