UV radiation devices, e.g. for medical purposes, for air or water purification, or surface cleaning by photochemistry are mostly equipped by amalgam, Hg low-, Hg medium-, or Hg high-pressure discharge lamps.
The main drawbacks of some of the UV emitting gas discharge lamps known in the art is their rather low lifetime due to the plasma-glass and plasma-phosphor interaction resulting in severe glass solarization, phosphor degradation, and plasma efficiency loss. In addition to that these lamps require a high voltage driver and Hg discharge lamps show a strong dependence on temperature, in particular during start-up of the lamp.
Therefore there is the need for alternative UV radiation devices that at least partly overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks and which have a longer lifetime.