Assessment of the effect of a pulsed power supply on the HgTlI lamp

Abstract

The objective of this work is to study the influence of a pulsed power supply on the energy efficiency of high-intensity discharge lamps in comparison with a pseudo-continuous ballast. The results presented in this paper concern the dynamic behaviour of discharges in mercury vapour doped with thallium iodide. The acquisition of the arc current, arc voltage and spectral radiation enables us to investigate the influence of the pulsed power supply on the electrical characteristics of the lamp such as the behaviour of the lamp conductance and spectral radiance. The analysis of the 577 nm mercury line’s response to the current pulse excitation allowed us to identify several phases. Good agreement has been found between simulation and experimental results.