Source:Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on the Science and Technology of Light Sources (LS-10), Institute of Physics (IoP) Publishing, Conference Series Number 182, ISBN 0-7503-1007-3 (2004), S. 363-364 Toulouse, Frankreich, 18.7. - 22.7.2004
Although HID lamps are known for seven decades and used in many applications many questions concerning the important electrode-plasma interaction are still not very well understood. Recent measurements using external laser heating of the electrode in anode or cathode phase revealed impressive influences on electrode fall voltage and electrode temperature. Fortunately the effects are very different in anode and cathode phase so that the experimental findings may be used to verify theoretical models and theoretical models may be used to explain the observed effects in detail. Results from these comparisons are important for the understanding and the further development of HID lamps which, due to their small dimensions, are often experimentally inaccessible. Thus modelling gets more and more important.