Incandescent, discharge, and arc lamp sources

Abstract

There is a very wide range of incandescent and discharge lamps. The majority of these are sold as general lighting sources, but many are suited to optoelectronic applications. Most optical radiation is the result of accelerating electrons and causing them to make inelastic collisions with atoms, ions, molecules or the lattice structure of solids. Both in incandescent and discharge lamps, electron motion is randomized. An electron energy distribution function is established that can usually be characterized by an electron temperature Te. Incandescent lamps using either tungsten or carbon emitters make use of the IR radiation in industrial heating processes. In incandescent lamps, the radiation is from the surface of a hot material. Most lamps are now developed to operate from electronic power supplies. The generation of light by conventional lamps is limited by the black body radiance at the electron temperature.