Limited life of plasma lamp
In the past, the life of the plasma lamps was limited by the magnetron used to generate the microwaves. Solid state RF chips can be used and give long lives. However, using solid state chips to generate RF is currently an order of magnitude more expensive than using a magnetron and so only appropriate for high value lighting niches. It has recently been shown by Dipolar of Sweden to be possible to greatly extend the life of magnetrons to over 40,000 hours making low cost plasma lamps possible.