Lighting Manufacturing

For lighting applications, we provide rare gases neon, krypton, and xenon, as well as custom mixes from our Rare Gas Center of Excellence.  These are used for the manufacture of incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, and high intensity discharge lamps.  We can also improve your economics with our recovery services which allow the reuse of otherwise-waste krypton and xenon.

Krypton and xenon can be used as the gas fill for incandescent bulbs.  The inert gases slow the evaporation of the tungsten filament.  This allows for higher temperatures and improved efficiency.  Krypton and xenon insulate better than argon and are better at extending the filament life.

Halogen lamps contain small amounts of halogens along with krypton or xenon.  The halogens take part in reversible halogen cycle reactions that redeposit evaporated tungsten on the lamps filament.  This allows for operation at higher temperatures which produces brighter light, and higher efficiency than with a traditional incandescent lamp.  The krypton or xenon dilutes the halogen gas and insulates the filament.  And the krypton and xenon also play a role in recondensing the vaporized tungsten to prolong the life.

Fluorescent lamps are filled to a low pressure with one or a mixture of inert gases.  These gases reduce the starting voltage, act as a buffer gas to protect electrodes, balance the rate of ionization and excitation for the UV production, and randomize the motion of free electrons, controlling their mean free path and velocity.  Use of krypton increases lamp efficiency over argon, and use of xenon increases it further still.

Xenon arc lamps are specialty gas discharge lamps that produce intense light by passing electricity through ionized xenon at high pressure.  They produce light that is similar to sunlight.  These lamps are used in movie theaters, locomotive headlights, runway lights and other applications where the bright light is needed.

Most every lighting application has specific requirements.  We provide neon, krypton and xenon, as well as customer specific mixes for every lighting requirement in our Rare Gas Center of Excellence­™.