High Intensity Discharge Lamps
Acronym: HID lamps
Definition: gas discharge lamps operating with high power density
More general term: gas discharge lamps
German: HID-Lampen
Category: 
non-laser light sources
Author: Dr. Rüdiger Paschotta
Cite the article using its DOI: https://doi.org/10.61835/0ak
Get citation code: Endnote (RIS) BibTex plain textHTML
High intensity discharge lamps (HID lamps) are gas discharge lamps which are operated with a high power density. They are generally made as short-arc lamps, i.e., with a small distance between anode and cathode. Further, they are typically arc lamps, i.e., continuously operating lamps rather than flash lamps. The relatively small light-emitting volume allows for collimation or focusing of the generated light, which is essential for some applications such as searchlamps or projection displays.
Different technologies can be used for such high intensity discharge lamps, for example metal halide lamps, xenon lamps, sodium vapor lamps and mercury vapor lamps. They mainly differ in terms of the used materials in the discharge, but also in other details like electrode materials and shapes, operation voltage and current, shape and material of the envelope (e.g. fused silica or transparent ceramics), etc.
More to Learn
Encyclopedia articles:
Suppliers
Questions and Comments from Users
Here you can submit questions and comments. As far as they get accepted by the author, they will appear above this paragraph together with the author’s answer. The author will decide on acceptance based on certain criteria. Essentially, the issue must be of sufficiently broad interest.
Please do not enter personal data here; we would otherwise delete it soon. (See also our privacy declaration.) If you wish to receive personal feedback or consultancy from the author, please contact him, e.g. via e-mail.
By submitting the information, you give your consent to the potential publication of your inputs on our website according to our rules. (If you later retract your consent, we will delete those inputs.) As your inputs are first reviewed by the author, they may be published with some delay.
Share this with your friends and colleagues, e.g. via social media:
These sharing buttons are implemented in a privacy-friendly way!