Pulsed cesium discharge light source
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorHarald L. Witting
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A metal vapor discharge lamp includes a cathode comprising a reservoir of liquid cesium. Metallic cesium which is eroded from the cathode surface by the action of the discharge is returned to the reservoir by the combined effects of gravity, evaporation, condensation, and diffusion to provide a highly stable, long-lived lamp. The intense infrared pulse output of cesium vapor discharge lamps of the present invention is well suited for triggering light-activated semiconductor switches through dielectric pipe networks and for pumping neodymium glass or neodymium-YAG lasers.
Claims25
A long-lived metal vapor discharge lamp, suitable for operation in a pulsed mode, comprising:
- an evacuable arc tube having a first end and a second end;
- a solid metal anode disposed in the first end of said arc tube;
- a liquid cesium reservoir disposed in the second end of said arc tube;
- a cathode comprising a conductive material capable of adsorbing cesium, said cathode pointedly protruding from said reservoir so as to provide a preferred discharge path;
- and
- a fill gas, including cesium vapor, disposed within said arc tube between said anode and said cathode at a vapor pressure between approximately 5 torr and approximately 100 torr.
A long-lived metal vapor discharge lamp, suitable for operation in a pulsed mode, comprising:
- an evacuable arc tube having a first end and a second end;
- a solid metal anode disposed in the first end of said arc tube;
- a reentrant metal end cap sealably closing the second end of said tube;
- a liquid cesium reservoir disposed in said reentrant end cap;
- and
- a fill gas, including cesium vapor, disposed within said arc tube between said anode and said cathode at a vapor pressure between approximately 5 torr and approximately 100 torr.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.