Short wave Ultra Violet light is very damaging to the skin and eyes.  Ozone generation is another hazard. This can be  produced by the action of  short-wave UV on oxygen in the air.

The Deuterium lamp shown on the right operating, emits a blue-white light. However, these lamps are used to produce Ultra-Violet (UV) emissions which we can't see.  The outer lamp envelope is made form quartz rather than glass. This is because glass does not transmit short wave UV light.  What makes Deuterium lamps so special, as a UV source, is its continuous spectrum in the range from 180nm - 300 nm.

Unlike a typical discharge lamp these lamps have a hot cathode. This takes the form of a filament which is initially heated by a low voltage source. The picture below shows the heater running.

With the heater on, and the lamp voltage applied, the lamp will not start. A third supply is required to strike the arc and establish ionisation.  The top of the lamp is shown below with the arc struck. The heater supply can be reduced or removed at this point as heating is maintained by ion bombardment, providing the arc current is high enough.

The start or strike voltage is around 400V while the running voltage is under 100V. The lamp shown here is running with an arc current of 200mA which is less than the designed 300mA

A commercial electronic driver for this type of lamp is shown below.  The small block of red LEDs on the top right of the circuit board indicates the start sequence for the lamp.  From right to left LED: 1-  Power available. 2- Lamp supply up. 3- Heater timer 4-Ignition and run-up. 5-Lamp at full output and heater supply reduced.

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Deuterium Lamp

Deuterium Lamp operational requirements circuit

Below is the visible spectrum, for this lamp, obtained using a diffraction grating. This type of lamp is mainly used as a UV source which is beyond the blue end and invisible to they eye and therefore can't be shown here.