Xenon lamp stability
Xenon lamp stability
(OP)
The arc of 4 to 5KW high pressure Xenon lamps originate at the cathode tip.
In operation, the visible arc of our Osram lamps "wanders" with the consequence that the intensity
via our optics fluctuates up to a few percent (we image the arc onto a pinhole and collimate with a parabola).
The lamp is vertical.
The intensity shifts seem to be related to the arc origin on the tip.
Any suggestions on how to stabilize the intensity? ( the power supply is stable)
Is the source of the instability related to the material properties of the cathode tip?
Any experience with other manufacturers lamps?
In operation, the visible arc of our Osram lamps "wanders" with the consequence that the intensity
via our optics fluctuates up to a few percent (we image the arc onto a pinhole and collimate with a parabola).
The lamp is vertical.
The intensity shifts seem to be related to the arc origin on the tip.
Any suggestions on how to stabilize the intensity? ( the power supply is stable)
Is the source of the instability related to the material properties of the cathode tip?
Any experience with other manufacturers lamps?





RE: Xenon lamp stability
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RE: Xenon lamp stability
This wandering of the arc has been much more pronounced in the past year or two of the thirty years of use under our belts.
My suspicion is a change in the cathode tip processing and the uniformity of the materials. This was observed in two different, but similar, Osram lamps models- both 4.2K and 5KW.
Almost all of the lamps show "erosion" of the cathode tip near the end of life (1000 Hr), some much earlier than others
RE: Xenon lamp stability
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA