ABSTRACT
The large efficiency of the ultraviolet (UV) emission in fluorescence lamps containing mercury can hardly be surpassed by alternative emitters. Therefore, the increase of efficiency and power of UV and visible radiation, respectively, is only one research objective. The improvement of other lamp characteristics like the ignition properties, the temperature dependence of the light output and the photometric characteristic are surely more suitable to adopt new application fields. The environmental aspect of the replacement of mercury by non-toxic admixtures, which has been often cited, would become of considerable importance not until firstly a volume production of Hg fluorescence lamps can be replaced and secondly the efficiency of the alternative lamps is not much lower and the replacement is not accompanied by a considerable increase of the corresponding power consumption. The latter would probably cause additional Hg emission in conventional coal burning power stations. An additional aspect which can crucially assist the replacement in conventional applications is the number of necessary changes in lamp design and technology. Most drawbacks of possible alternative radiation sources are up to the present, however, the limited life-time and operation stability which have to be improved in future research.
