What is a Germicidal Lamp?
Germicidal lamps are low-pressure, mercury/rare gas discharge devices similar to fluorescent lamps. This is true in both operation and construction except for the lack of a phosphor coating on the inner lamp wall. The features of a germicidal lamp include: • The envelope has high transmittance for 254nm radiation • A UV lamp that emits a significant portion of its radiative power in the UV-C Band (100 to 280nm) • An ozone producing UV lamp that produces UV energy of wavelengths shorter than 220nm that decomposes oxygen, O² , producing ozone, O³. • A UV lamp that generates energy at 185nm which is particularly effective in producing ozone. The lamp body may be made of pure fused quartz that will transmit both 254 and 185nm radiation (VH glass), quartz with Titanium added to block out most of the 185nm radiation (L glass), or of a “soft” glass formulated to transmit 254nm Electrode radiation (L glass).
