Abstract
A novel concept for the backlighting of information displays will be proposed in this article. The increasing amount of information which can be made available to the passengers in the vehicular environment is followed by a need for a better way of displaying this information. The need to display more information contents is followed by a need of larger displays with more integrated functions. The OSRAM PLANON as a mercury free dielectric barrier discharge lamp could be the way to overcome several of today's innovation barriers. The functional principle and the resulting properties important for the use in an automotive environment is described. For the covering abstract see ITRD E123380.