Arc Lamp With Forming Gas For Thermal Processing Systems

A thermal processing system, comprising:

• a processing chamber configured to thermally treat a work-piece;
• and
• an arc lamp heat source, the arc lamp heat source comprising:
• a plurality of electrodes configured to generate a plasma in a forming gas;
• and
• the forming gas comprises a mixture of a hydrogen gas and an inert gas with the hydrogen gas in the mixture having a concentration less than 4% by volume, the hydrogen gas introduced into the arc lamp prior to generating the plasma.

An arc lamp, comprising:

• a tube;
• one or more inlets configured to receive water to be circulated through the arc lamp during operation as a water wall, the water wall configured to cool the arc lamp;
• and
• a plurality of electrodes configured to generate a plasma in a forming gas introduced into the arc lamp via the one or more inlets, the forming gas introduced into the arc lamp prior to generating the plasma, wherein the plurality of electrodes comprise:
• a tip where the tip of at least one of the plurality of electrodes comprises hafnium alloy or tantalum hafnium carbide;
• and
• a heat sink around the tip;
• and
• the forming gas comprises one or more inert gases.