The basis of a xenon lamp is on the noble gas xenon electrical discharge. As such, all xenon lamps are gas discharge lamps. When it comes to a xenon lamp, users will find different types, and some of them are:
- Electrodes were created from tungsten metal. At times, they are made of dopants such as thorium. They are resistant to excess operation temperatures.
- A lamp envelopes developed from fused silica, and at times, from other glasses like borosilicates.
- White light sources like broadband light emission. This type uses some spectral line with a broad optical spectrum and the spectral line superimposed on a comprehensive continuum that spans the complete visible spectral range. It also extends into the near-infrared and ultraviolet with high color rendering.
- A xenon filling
On the other hand, applications, operation mode, whether continuous-wave or pulsed, the lamp envelope’s shape and size, and fill pressure, can differentiate these lamps. LEDs are lights emitting diodes, and they are replacing outdated light sources within several applications as the green evolution continues. However, the arc discharge lamps for any applications that need wavelength ranges a LED’s monochromatic output may not attain a more suitable choice. As lamp’s prominent feature tends to be emission with high-intensity in a UV area that the current LEDs don’t cover, they also cover a wide-ranging wavelength.
Choose a Xenon Lamp Using These Critical Parameters
Considering the life expectancy, stability level, light intensity, and wavelength are crucial when choosing a xenon lamp. And what brings down the lamp selections are the obligatory wavelength choice. The electromagnetic spectrum’s little portion uses specific lamps to cover it, with others comprising a more comprehensive range. From UV, mercury-xenon, and xenon lamps emit infrared wavelengths while people get ultraviolet wavelengths from deuterium lamps.
Users must also consider another essential characteristic, which is light intensity. It is also crucial to know whether it needs a pulsed or continuous light. The input control has a necessary proportion to a lamp’s power – the more advanced the intensity, the more sophisticated the contribution influence. However, there can be an intense light output within some milliseconds when it comes to sources for pulsed light, such as xenon flash lamps. As such, this light output in the continuous-method lamps will be around 1000 times lower. The applications that need significant output power for a little tile can find a fit in pulsed lighting.
A crucial parameter is the lamp’s output strength since it impacts measurement reliability and accuracy. Meanwhile, a lamp’s stability is as a result of several factors. When it comes to deuterium, mercury-xenon, and xenon lamps, the arc’s position upset their stability and housing design, power supply performance, and temperature. Factors that can also disturb the xenon flash lamp’s stability are position inside the arc, main discharge capacitor, operating frequency, and lamp discharge voltage. The equipment running costs and maintenance determine a lamp’s lifetime. As such, users can reduce time spent aligning and replacing lamps when they use a longer-life service lamp.
Mercury-Xenon and Xenon Lamps
The anode and cathode electrodes of mercury-xenon and xenon lamp face each other within the gas-filled glass bulb. There is a blend of mercury and xenon gas in xenon-mercury lamps, while there is significantly pure xenon gas in the xenon lamps. They use arc discharge while emitting.
The broad spectrum xenon lamps produce IR to UV is about 185 to 2000 nm, the same as sunlight. These lamps have a long life, high strength, and increased production intensity. Users can have a 2000 to 3000 hours guaranteed life with Hamamatsu’s xenon lamps with 150 W and 75 W. They will find xenon lamps appropriate light sources aimed at microscopes, wafer inspection structures, spectrometers, solar simulators, and other apparatuses.
Xenon-mercury lamps use visible parts corresponding to mercury’s spectral lines and the UV’s sharp peaks when emitting a broad spectrum to IR from UV. Xenon-mercury lamps appear more suitable for applications that need the UV section to have a high intensity than xenon lamps due to the sharp emission peaks. Such an application can be UV curing. Some of the xenon-mercury lamps’ features include long overhaul life, firmness, and extraordinary output power. UV curing, microscopes, systems for measuring film thickness, wafer inspection systems, and other systems will find the appropriate light sources.
Operators must keep some items in mind when using mercury-xenon and xenon lamps, such as cathode erosion, power supply routine, and warm-up phase. Users will also need this warm-up phase that can last several minutes after they have turned on the lamp before getting to the utmost light production since the bulb of the gas density needs to first get to the equilibrium.
To ensure the lamp’s operation is stable, both the lamps can trigger power supplies and require stable main since they operate on DC power. Before it can have the cathode’s peak temperature and deliver the best flow to the lamp, there is a need for the central power supply to be stable. There will also be a smaller lamp period as the cathode will sputter when there is a low temperature for the cathode. The cathode may evaporate when it is too high.
People are concerned about cathode erosion since it affects the fluctuation of the arc points and moves slowly with the operating time, impacting the lamp’s stability. However, what can eliminate the issue is the enhanced electrode resources. Unlike conventional lamps that lack this technology, Hamamatsu’s mercury-xenon and xenon lamps utilize unique cathode materials that come from insignificant erosion, perhaps after operating it for 1000 hours.
Deuterium Lamps
With the wavelength collection depending on the lamp’s glass material and emitting UV light, deuterium lamps have deuterium gas. Unlike mercury-xenon and xenon lamps, the lamps have one direction only when emitting. People use them prominently in environmental analyzers, liquid chromatography with high performance, HPLC, and other related applications. People can get an emission of around 115 nm from deuterium lamps, even for applications with wavelengths having UV (VUV) vacuum. Users can install and operate Hamamatsu under-depressurized settings aimed at photoionization, VUV spectroscopy, and other related applications with an S2D2 VUV light source unit.
Unlike other types of lamps, deuterium lamps’ excellent stability is their crucial characteristic. People can find little production variations in Hamamatsu’s deuterium lamps. In comparison, there are drift values and low fluctuation with individual lamps. Operators can have a ±0.25 percent per hour concentrated drift rate and a 0.005 percent usual fluctuation when it comes to Hamamatsu’s S2D2 deuterium lamp module. A ceramic electrode configuration determines such stability. As such, even with the fluctuation of the atmosphere temperature, it ensures lamp stability.
As they develop deuterium to a brighter level, these lamps boast extraordinary brightness with long life. Predictable deuterium lamps don’t have the same brightness as Hamamatsu’s new X2D2 lamps. An instrument can have high throughput and high resolution when using an extreme-brightness lamp.
Users must note some of the factors when operating deuterium lamps are aperture size, warm-up stages, and power supply routine. Deuterium lamps can deliver the ideal current as it requires a steady power supply, as it is not like mercury-xenon and xenon lamps. And before the lamp can reach thermal equilibrium, they also need a preparation phase.
The aperture size is another factor users must consider. The size of a deuterium aperture can affect their light output power. However, between alignment difficulty and aperture size, people can have a compromise. Small aperture deuterium lamps and a bigger aperture tend to be brighter than the lamp. However, it tends to be more demanding when bringing them into the optical method. As they can emit IR from UV, flash lamps tend to be compressed pulse light bases.