MBI Metal Halide - Quartz Style

Updated
12-III-2011
Although the origins of the metal halide lamp can be traced back to a 1912 patent taken out by GE's Charles Steinmetz, the practical lamps based on current technologies first appeared in the labs of Osram in Germany, and of GE in USA, in the late 1950s. It was not until the mid 1960s that commercial products appeared.

The technology is a development of the high pressure mercury lamp, to which trace additions of various other metals are added in the form of their halide compounds. These are vaporised into the discharge and contribute their spectral output, and materials are selected which fill in the gaps in the mercury spectrum to deliver a light source having considerably improved colour properties. The luminous efficacy of the lamps is also increased owing to a reduction in the generation of invisible ultraviolet radiation.

It is necessary to add the metals in the form of halides because the metals themselves usually have too low a vapour pressure to participate in the discharge, but the halides are vaporised very much more readily. In addition the additive metals are rather corrosive towards the quartz discharge tube wall, but when halides are employed, they always exist in compound form on the quartz surface in which state they are very much less reactive, thus minimising the corrosion problems.

High Wattage Lamps

Philips

2000W

HPI-T lamp of First Gen. with Na-Tl-In chemistry
1968

Mazda

2000W

MAIH 2000 B High Wattage Metal Halide
1978

Thorn

1500W

MBIL/H High Wattage Double Ended Linear
1988

Medium Wattage Lamps

Sylvania

400W

MetalArc Na-Sc lamp with flat mounting frame
1965

GE

400W

Multi-Vapor MV-400/BD with Na-Sc chemistry
1973

Narva

400W

Nachroma NC400-00 with Na-In-Tl chemistry
1984

Wotan

400W

HQI-T 400/DV Daylight Vertical Rare Earth
1988

Tungsram

400W

HgMIF 400/DH Daylight Horizontal Rare Earth
1992

Osram

400W

HQI-BT 400W/D Daylight Universal Rare Earth
2001

Philips

400W

HPI-BUS Self-Starting Mercury Lamp Retrofit
1987

GE

175W

Multi-Vapor II (Halarc) high-lumen electronic
1989

Thorn

250W

MBIF/H/S Lithium doped for Marks & Spencer
1990

Thorn

250W

Kolorarc MBI-T 250W tri-band high lumen output
1991

Iwasaki

400W

Mutli-Super Ace 5-band Mercury Retrofit (Teflon)
2002

Sylvania

400W

Super MetalArc Horiz. with curved arc tube
2000

Sylvania

1000W

Super MetalArc Vertical with fattened arc tube
1984

Philips

1500W

Z-Lamp with offset arc tube for sports lighting
2003

Wotan

250W

Powerstar HQI-R with integral reflector
1987

Venture

400W

Glare-Guard with crown silvered outer bulb
1992
       

Compact Lamps

GE

35 / 55W

'First Light' Electronic Halarc Self Ballasted
1981

GE

32W

Halarc MXR low wattage for open fixtures
1990

Sylvania

100W

MetalArc Protected for open fixtures
1986

Philips

75W

MHN "Thulium Lamp" High-CRI Prototype
1985

Philips

70W

MHN-T Open Fixture Single Ended
1996

Osram

150W

HQI-TS 150W/NDL Double Ended Compact
1989

Thorn

200W

Arcstream MBI-T Single Ended Prototype
1985

Osram

70W

HQI-T 70W/WDL Single Ended Compact
1994

Philips

35W

MHN-TC Experimental Single Ended Compact
1993

Iwasaki

150W

ColorArc 3500K with exceptionally high Ra 96
1988

Iwasaki

70W

ColorArc 6500K PAR36 High-CRI Metal Halide
1999

Sylvania

35W

BriteSpot ES50 Compact Metal Halide Reflector
2003

Coloured Light

Tesla

400W

RVIZ Thallium Iodide Green colour lamp
1975

GEC

400W

MBI/U Indium Iodide Blue colour lamp
1986

YaMing

250W

JLC250 Sodium-Lithium-Indium Red colour lamp
2004

Narva

400W

NC400-04 Bilirubinaemia Gallium-Indium lamp
1981