Mercury free UV-light sources based on excimer lamps

UV-light sources are widely used in many technological and industrial processes. Most abundant are mercury discharge lamps because of their high efficiency. In some cases the usage of mercury lamps maybe restricted or forbidden by conflicting safety requirements. The paper considers the state of the art regarding modern excimer lamps for the UV spectral region. Different constructions and methods of excitation are discussed. A comparison of mercury and excimer lamps in terms of efficiency, power density, and lifetime is presented. It is also shown that excimer lamps are a good alternative to mercury lamps for certain applications and in some cases are the only possibility.