Ignition Concepts for High Frequency Operated HID Lamps

It takes a lot of effort to ignite discharge lamps with high ignition voltages but a high frequency operation after the ignition phase makes it even more complicated. In this case the ignition circuit, usually connected in series with the lamp, cannot be neglected during lamp operation. Designing the ignition circuit separate from the rest of the electronic ballast is not suitable. Several ignition concepts are discussed regarding high frequency operation. DC ignition is the only concept that benefits from an increasing operation frequency but other obstacles appear in case of implementation. Even if the problems due to acoustic resonances have been overcome the ignition of the lamp is another issue that favors a low-frequency operation