US3764843A - High-pressure gas discharge lamp containing germanium and selenium - Google Patents

High-pressure gas discharge lamp containing germanium and selenium Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US3764843A
US3764843A US00256578A US3764843DA US3764843A US 3764843 A US3764843 A US 3764843A US 00256578 A US00256578 A US 00256578A US 3764843D A US3764843D A US 3764843DA US 3764843 A US3764843 A US 3764843A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
lamp
germanium
selenium
halogen
pressure gas
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00256578A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Eijl A Van
A Jack
H Nienhuis
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
US Philips Corp
Original Assignee
US Philips Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by US Philips Corp filed Critical US Philips Corp
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3764843A publication Critical patent/US3764843A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
    • H01J61/00—Gas-discharge or vapour-discharge lamps
    • H01J61/02—Details
    • H01J61/12—Selection of substances for gas fillings; Specified operating pressure or temperature
    • H01J61/18—Selection of substances for gas fillings; Specified operating pressure or temperature having a metallic vapour as the principal constituent

Definitions

  • the lamp preferably includes a starter gas (rare gas) and a buffer gas (mercury).
  • a starter gas ultraviolet gas
  • a buffer gas curable gas
  • the lamp emits the continuous molecular radiation of germanium selenide and a very satisfactory colour rendition is possible in a wide range of colour temperature 8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENTED 0B1 3. 764. 843
  • the invention relates to a high-pressure gas discharge lamp having a light-transmitting discharge vessel provided with a gas filling-in which the discharge takes place.
  • a lamp of this kind which has been known for a long time and is used on a large scale is the high-pressure mercury vapour discharge lamp.
  • a drawback of this lamp is that it has less satisfactory colour rendition properties and is therefore less suitable for general illumination purposes in which a satisfactory rendition of colours is required. 1
  • metal halides particularly metal iodides
  • high-pressure gas discharge lamps particularly high-pressure mercury vapour discharge lamps
  • Said Patent Specification describes, for example, a lamp which in addition to a rare gas and mercury contains theiodides of sodium, thallium and indium. These metals emit their characteristic radiation during operation of the lamp while the mercy spectrum is suppressed so that a lamp is obtained which has a much better colour rendition than the lamps containing mercury only.
  • the spectrum of the emitted radiation of these iodidecontaining lamps is, however, predominantly constituted by spectral lines and thus deviates considerably from the continous spectrum of a black radiator or of natural daylight. lf very stringent requirements are im' posed on the rendition of colours, a continuous spectrum of the radiation emitted by the lamp is necessary.
  • a high-pressure gas discharge lamp containing tim bromide and/or tin iodide is known from the Netherlands Pat. application No. 6610396. This lamp emits radiation originating from the .tin halide molecules. Thismolecular radiation has a continuous spectral distribution of such a shape that a very satisfactory colour rendition can be obtained.
  • a drawback of the known lamps which generally contain both tin bromide and tin iodide is that with these lamps colour temperatures of the emitted radiation can be achieved which are located in a relatively limited region namely between approximately 4,000 and 6,000 K.
  • a high-pressure gas discharge lamp which emits molecular radiation having a continuous spectrum is furthermore known from German Pat. application No. 2,023,770.
  • This lamp contains tin chloride and furthermore tin, either as a metal or as tin iodide. It is stated that the use of tinchloride generally yields higher radiation efficiencies than the use of tin bromide and tin iodide.
  • a drawback of this known lamp is, however, that the presence of the aggressive chlorine may give rise to serious chemical attack of the electrodes.
  • the object of the invention is to provide a highpressure gas discharge lamp which contains new molecular radiators.
  • a further object of the invention is to provide a lamp of this kind which does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks of the known lamps or has these drawbacks to a limited extent only and which has very satisfactory colour rendition properties in a large region of colour temperatures.
  • a high-pressure gas discharge lamp has a light-transmitting discharge vessel provided with a gas filling in which the discharge takes place and is characterized in that the'filling comprises at least gram atoms of germanium per cubic centimetre of contents of the discharge vessel and selenium, the ratio between the numbers of atoms of selenium and germanium being between 0.5 and 4.
  • a lamp according to the invention comprises germanium selenide which is introduced assuch or in the form of the composite elements into the lamp.
  • germanium selenide is an efficient molecular radiator whose emitted radiation has a continuous spectral distribution at a maximum of between 360 and 380 nm.
  • the quantity of germanium in a lamp according to the invention is to be at least 10 gram atoms per cubic cm of contents of the discharge vessel. In fact, when less than this quantity is used an insufficient effect of the 1 addition of germanium selenide is obtained and light outputs which are too low'in practice are obtained.
  • the quantity of germanium is chosen to be not more than 10 gram atoms per cubic cm because more germanium does not provide additional advantages and only gives rise to a quantity of unevaporated germanium and/or germanium selenide during operation of the lamp.
  • the ratio between the number of atoms of selenium and germanium may deviate from the stoichiometric value 1 which applies to the compound GeSe.
  • This ratio is, however, to be chosen between the values 0.5 and 4 because for values of more than 4 a too large quantity of free selenium is present in the lamp which may give rise to the production of ultraviolet radiation which is unwanted for many uses, and because for values of less than 0.5 free germanium may be deposited on the wall of the discharge vessel which may detrimentally influence the light output of the lamp.
  • a special advantage of a lamp according to the invention is that the discharge is stable even at high values of the concentration of germanium selenide present in vapour form during operation of the lamp. in the known tin halide containing lamps disturbing instabilities of the discharge occur above given tin halide concentrations. In a lamp according to the invention it is possible to use an excess of germanium selenide so that the vapour pressure of germanium selenide is only limited by the temperature of the coldest spot in the lamp.
  • a lamp according to the invention which comprises germanium selenide only may advantageously be used for many applications, for example, in photo-chemical processes. However, this lamp is less suitable for general illumination purposes because the emitted radiation is too blue and has a very high colour temperature 12,000 K).
  • the colour temperature of a lamp according to the invention may, however, assume values which are very desirable for general illumination purposes if in addition to germanium and selenium other radiators are added to the filling of the lamp, which radiators exhibit a considerable emission in the red part of the visible spectrum. A very satisfactory colour rendition can be achieved with a lamp of this kind.
  • tin and one or more of the halogens are preferably added in addition to germanium and selenium to the filling of a lamp.
  • the ratio between the numbers of atoms of halogen and tin must then be not more than 4 because otherwise too much free halogen is present in the lamp which gives rise to instabilities of the discharge. In practice this ratio is chosen to be not less than 0.5 because below this value a too large quantity of free tin is present which does not contribute to the light emission.
  • the ratio between the numbers of atoms of selenium and halogen is chosen to be between 0.02 and 4.
  • the starter gas which serves to promote the ignition of the lamp generally consists of a rare gas or a mixture of rare gases having a pressure of between, for example, 1 and 100 Torr (at room temperature).
  • the buffer gas serves to increase the overall pressure in the discharge lamp and to increase the arc voltage so that a larger quantity of energy can be dissipated in the lamp.
  • Mercury in a quantity of between 2.5- and 210 gram atoms per cubic cm of contents of the discharge vessel is preferably used as a buffer gas.
  • Lamps according to the invention which in addition to germanium and selenium also contain tin and a halogen and in which the halogen is iodine and/or bromide are preferred.
  • tin iodide and tin bromide emit molecular radiation whose contribution in the red part of the spectrum is larger than that of tin chloride so that when using tin iodide and/or tin bromide for general illumination purposes the optimum implementation of the germanium selenide spectrum is obtained.
  • iodine and bromide have the advantage that they are less aggressive than chorine so that electrode attack and the like are limited to a minimum.
  • Optimum results are obtained with lamps according to the invention in which the ratio between the numbers of atoms of halogen and tin is between 1.5 and 2.5 and the ratio between the numbers of atoms of selenium and germanium is between 0.8 and 1.2. At these ratios the formation of free tin and free germanium deposited on the wall of the lamp and on the electrodes is limited to a minimum and a too large excess of free halogen and free selenium is also prevented.
  • the quantity of germanium is between 510 and 210 gram atoms per cubic cm of contents of the discharge vessel and the ratio between the numbers of atoms of selenium and halogen is between 0.05 and 2.
  • the ratio between the numbers of atoms of selenium and halogen is between 0.05 and 2.
  • FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of-a lamp according to the invention.
  • FIGS. 2 and 3 graphically show the spectral distribution of the emitted radiation of two lamps according to the invention.
  • l is the quartz glass discharge vessel of a high-pressure gas discharge lamp according to the invention.
  • Pinches 2 and 3 in which current supply elements 4 and 5 have been sealed are formed at both ends of the discharge vessel 1. These current supply elements are connected within the discharge vessel to tungsten electrodes 6 and 7 between which the discharge takes place during operation.
  • the discharge vessel 1 is placed in an outer envelope 8, for example, of hard glass one end of which has a pinch 9 through which current supply wires 10 and 11 are passed in a vacuum-tight manner.
  • the current supply wires 10 and 11 are connected to the current supply elements 4 and 5 and also serve as supporting terminals for the discharge vessel.
  • the discharge vessel 1 has an internal diameter of 15.5 mms and a content of 7.5 cubic cm. The distance between the electrodes is 41 mms.
  • the lamp is suitable for a power of 400 W.
  • EXAMPLE 1 spectral distribution of this lamp according to the invention, which in addition to mercury and argon comprises germanium and selenium only, is found to consist of a continum which extends throughout the visible part of the spectrum up to the ultraviolet part of the spectrum with a maximum at approximately 360-380 nm. In addition to this continuum originating from germanium selenide molecules, mercury lines and germanium lines are also present in the spectral distribution.
  • EXAMPLES 2, 3 and 4 Three lamps (to be denoted by characters A, B and C, respectively) having a construction as shown in FIG. 1 are provided with the following filling: 1.5 mg of tin, 5.7 mg of mercury iodiode (I-IgI 22 mg of mercury and argon up to a pressure of 20 Torr. Furthermore the lamps contain germanium selenide (GeSe) in the quantities mentioned below:
  • the colour temperature T, and the light output LO of these lamps which consume a power of 400 W during operation have been measured.
  • the measurements are summarised in thefollowing table.
  • EXAMPLE 5 The spectral distribution of the radiation emitted by this lamp is shown in a graph in FIG. 3.
  • This embodiment of a lamp according to the invention is very suitable for general illumination purposes in those cases in which in addition to a perfect colour rendition a high colour temperature is required.
  • a high-pressure gas discharge lamp comprising:
  • a light transmitting discharge vessel having at least a pair of electrodes secured thereto for exciting the V lamp, said vessel provided with a gas filling in which the discharge takes place, said gas filling including at least 10' gram atoms of germanium per cubic centimeter of contents of the discharge vessel and selenium, the ratio between the numbers of atoms of selenium and germanium being between 0.5 and 4.
  • a high-pressure gas discharge lamp as claimed in claim 2 wherein the quantity of germanium is between 5 X 10* and 2 X 10' gram atoms per cubic cm of contents of the discharge vessel, and that the ratio between the numbers of atoms of selenium and halogen is between 0.05 and 2.
  • a high-pressure gas discharge lamp is claimed in claim 2 wherein the halogens are iodine and bromine.

Landscapes

  • Discharge Lamp (AREA)
  • Vessels And Coating Films For Discharge Lamps (AREA)
US00256578A 1971-06-02 1972-05-24 High-pressure gas discharge lamp containing germanium and selenium Expired - Lifetime US3764843A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL7107535A NL7107535A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1971-06-02 1971-06-02

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3764843A true US3764843A (en) 1973-10-09

Family

ID=19813290

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00256578A Expired - Lifetime US3764843A (en) 1971-06-02 1972-05-24 High-pressure gas discharge lamp containing germanium and selenium

Country Status (14)

Country Link
US (1) US3764843A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
AT (1) AT312097B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
AU (1) AU461184B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
BE (1) BE784248A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
BR (1) BR7203518D0 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CA (1) CA950958A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CH (1) CH540566A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE2225308C3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
ES (1) ES403381A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2140199B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1347594A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
IT (1) IT959015B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
NL (1) NL7107535A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
SE (1) SE371041B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4015164A (en) * 1974-11-30 1977-03-29 U.S. Philips Corporation Metallic halide high-pressure gas discharge lamp
US5493184A (en) * 1990-10-25 1996-02-20 Fusion Lighting, Inc. Electrodeless lamp with improved efficiency
US5606220A (en) * 1990-10-25 1997-02-25 Fusion Systems Corporation Visible lamp including selenium or sulfur
US5798611A (en) * 1990-10-25 1998-08-25 Fusion Lighting, Inc. Lamp having controllable spectrum
US5825132A (en) * 1994-04-07 1998-10-20 Gabor; George RF driven sulfur lamp having driving electrodes arranged to cool the lamp
US5831386A (en) * 1993-10-15 1998-11-03 Fusion Lighting, Inc. Electrodeless lamp with improved efficacy
US5834895A (en) * 1990-10-25 1998-11-10 Fusion Lighting, Inc. Visible lamp including selenium
RU2125322C1 (ru) * 1990-10-25 1999-01-20 Фьюжн Лайтинг Инк. Газоразрядная лампа видимой области спектра, способ ее изготовления и способ ее эксплуатации
RU2130214C1 (ru) * 1990-10-25 1999-05-10 Фьюжн Лайтинг, Инк. Лампа, обеспечивающая излучение в видимой части спектра (варианты)
WO2002101789A1 (en) * 2001-06-08 2002-12-19 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Gas discharge lamp
US6633111B1 (en) * 1999-10-15 2003-10-14 Lg Electronics Inc. Electrodeless lamp using SnI2
US6731070B2 (en) * 2001-06-15 2004-05-04 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Low-pressure gas discharge lamp with a mercury-free gas filling
WO2005071711A3 (en) * 2004-01-15 2005-10-27 Philips Intellectual Property High-pressure mercury vapor lamp
US20060110700A1 (en) * 1998-02-13 2006-05-25 Cipolla Anthony J Apparatus for simultaneous illumination of teeth
US20060132042A1 (en) * 2004-12-20 2006-06-22 General Electric Company Mercury-free and sodium-free compositions and radiation source incorporating same
EP1463091A3 (en) * 2003-02-17 2008-01-09 KAAS, Povl UV-optimised discharge lamp with electrodes

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE4230298C2 (de) * 1992-09-10 2003-07-10 Perkin Elmer Bodenseewerk Zwei Atomabsorptions-Spektrometer und Hochdrucklampe für ein Atomabsorptions-Spektrometer

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3234421A (en) * 1961-01-23 1966-02-08 Gen Electric Metallic halide electric discharge lamps
US3521110A (en) * 1967-09-25 1970-07-21 Gen Electric Mercury-metallic halide vapor lamp with regenerative cycle

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3234421A (en) * 1961-01-23 1966-02-08 Gen Electric Metallic halide electric discharge lamps
US3521110A (en) * 1967-09-25 1970-07-21 Gen Electric Mercury-metallic halide vapor lamp with regenerative cycle

Cited By (22)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4015164A (en) * 1974-11-30 1977-03-29 U.S. Philips Corporation Metallic halide high-pressure gas discharge lamp
RU2130214C1 (ru) * 1990-10-25 1999-05-10 Фьюжн Лайтинг, Инк. Лампа, обеспечивающая излучение в видимой части спектра (варианты)
US5493184A (en) * 1990-10-25 1996-02-20 Fusion Lighting, Inc. Electrodeless lamp with improved efficiency
US5606220A (en) * 1990-10-25 1997-02-25 Fusion Systems Corporation Visible lamp including selenium or sulfur
US5798611A (en) * 1990-10-25 1998-08-25 Fusion Lighting, Inc. Lamp having controllable spectrum
US5834895A (en) * 1990-10-25 1998-11-10 Fusion Lighting, Inc. Visible lamp including selenium
RU2125322C1 (ru) * 1990-10-25 1999-01-20 Фьюжн Лайтинг Инк. Газоразрядная лампа видимой области спектра, способ ее изготовления и способ ее эксплуатации
US5866980A (en) * 1990-10-25 1999-02-02 Fusion Lighting, Inc. Sulfur/selenium lamp with improved characteristics
US5831386A (en) * 1993-10-15 1998-11-03 Fusion Lighting, Inc. Electrodeless lamp with improved efficacy
US5914564A (en) * 1994-04-07 1999-06-22 The Regents Of The University Of California RF driven sulfur lamp having driving electrodes which face each other
US5825132A (en) * 1994-04-07 1998-10-20 Gabor; George RF driven sulfur lamp having driving electrodes arranged to cool the lamp
US20060110700A1 (en) * 1998-02-13 2006-05-25 Cipolla Anthony J Apparatus for simultaneous illumination of teeth
US6633111B1 (en) * 1999-10-15 2003-10-14 Lg Electronics Inc. Electrodeless lamp using SnI2
WO2002101789A1 (en) * 2001-06-08 2002-12-19 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Gas discharge lamp
US6731070B2 (en) * 2001-06-15 2004-05-04 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Low-pressure gas discharge lamp with a mercury-free gas filling
EP1463091A3 (en) * 2003-02-17 2008-01-09 KAAS, Povl UV-optimised discharge lamp with electrodes
WO2005071711A3 (en) * 2004-01-15 2005-10-27 Philips Intellectual Property High-pressure mercury vapor lamp
US20090184644A1 (en) * 2004-01-15 2009-07-23 Koerber Achim Gerhard Rolf High-pressure mercury vapor lamp
CN100583379C (zh) * 2004-01-15 2010-01-20 皇家飞利浦电子股份有限公司 高压汞蒸气灯
US7733027B2 (en) * 2004-01-15 2010-06-08 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. High-pressure mercury vapor lamp incorporating a predetermined germanium to oxygen molar ratio within its discharge fill
US20060132042A1 (en) * 2004-12-20 2006-06-22 General Electric Company Mercury-free and sodium-free compositions and radiation source incorporating same
US7847484B2 (en) 2004-12-20 2010-12-07 General Electric Company Mercury-free and sodium-free compositions and radiation source incorporating same

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
NL7107535A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1972-12-05
FR2140199A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1973-01-12
DE2225308B2 (de) 1979-03-08
ES403381A1 (es) 1975-04-16
GB1347594A (en) 1974-02-27
CA950958A (en) 1974-07-09
IT959015B (it) 1973-11-10
CH540566A (de) 1973-08-15
BR7203518D0 (pt) 1973-06-14
AT312097B (de) 1973-12-10
DE2225308A1 (de) 1972-12-14
SE371041B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-11-04
BE784248A (fr) 1972-11-30
DE2225308C3 (de) 1979-10-25
FR2140199B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1977-12-23
AU4286372A (en) 1973-12-06
AU461184B2 (en) 1975-05-15

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US3764843A (en) High-pressure gas discharge lamp containing germanium and selenium
US3654506A (en) High pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp with metal halide additive
US4171498A (en) High pressure electric discharge lamp containing metal halides
US5109181A (en) High-pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp
US3259777A (en) Metal halide vapor discharge lamp with near molten tip electrodes
US3234421A (en) Metallic halide electric discharge lamps
US3852630A (en) Halogen containing high-pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp
US3979624A (en) High-efficiency discharge lamp which incorporates a small molar excess of alkali metal halide as compared to scandium halide
US4020377A (en) High pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp
US3351798A (en) Scandium halide discharge lamp
JPH0565976B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
EP0386602A2 (en) Reprographic metal halide lamps having high blue emission
US4647814A (en) High-power, high-pressure metal halide discharge lamp with improved spectral light distribution
US4978884A (en) Metal halide discharge lamp having low color temperature and improved color rendition
US3452238A (en) Metal vapor discharge lamp
US3958145A (en) High pressure, mercury vapor, metal halide discharge lamp
US3639801A (en) High-pressure mercury vapor iodide discharge lamp
US4247798A (en) Mercury-metal halide discharge lamp
US3536947A (en) High pressure discharge lamps
US3927343A (en) Wall-stabilised high-pressure mercury vapour discharge lamp containing iodide
US4015164A (en) Metallic halide high-pressure gas discharge lamp
US3897594A (en) High pressure mercury discharge lamp
US3575630A (en) High pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp containing zirconium iodide
US4319157A (en) High pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp
US3569766A (en) Metal vapor discharge lamp