Microwave-driven lamps

Spectral output of commercial microwave-driven lamps. (Courtesy of UV Fusion Systems.)... 

Currently, there are two types of commercial excimer lamps barrier-discharge- and microwave-driven lamps. 

Fusion Systems (Gaithersburg, MD) at one time offered 240 W/cm microwave-driven excimer lamps within its VIP (Versatile Irradiance Platform) series. They were among the most powerful sources of UV radiant power,i available... 

Ametepe JD, Diggs J, Manos DM, Kelley MJ (1999) Characterization and Modeling of a Microwave Driven Xenon Excimer Lamp,/. Appl. Phys. 85, No. 11 7505-7510. 

Monochromatic UV radiation is emitted by excimer lamps, in which microwave discharge5 or a radio-frequency-driven silent discharge6 generates excimer-excited states of noble gas halide molecules, which decay by the emission of monochromatic UV radiation. In the ground state, the excimer molecules decay into atoms. Therefore, no self-absorption of the UV radiation can occur. All photons are coupled out of the discharge.4... 

Another approach to the production of UV photons includes the development of electrode-less discharge lamps driven by microwave excitation (e.g. Fassler et al., 2001, Ametepe et al., 1999, He et al., 1998). This type of lamp is shown in Fig. 4-17. In this case, the excitation of mercury vapor within the discharge gap is achieved by coupling in the energy with a water-cooled high-frequency spool. This concept may be a very convenient tool for microwave photochemistry experiments by simultaneous combination of microwave and VUV/UV irradiation of aqueous systems (c.f Klan et al., 2001, 1999). 

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