RLOD#46 (2020.08.25) Late-2010s Ushio NSHA465CT

Between the mid-2000s and the mid-2010s there was a race towards higher wattages concerning ultra-high pressure mercury short-arc lamps. This was fueled mainly by the need for larger screen sizes in video and media projection, the primary application for these lamps. There was also an intention to replace 750–1000 W xenon short-arc lamps with more efficient alternatives, but this target was never met due to issues with light color quality. The race eventually reached its conclusion around 2015 when both Philips (Belgium) and Ushio (Japan) released lamps rated at 465 W. The NSHA465CT shown here was produced by the latter and features a mercury burner similar to that made by Philips. The UV enhancer, a capacitively-coupled source of short-wave radiation needed for the reliable ignition of the lamp, is not integrated to the arc tube however. Since that technology is owned by Philips, Ushio added an active wire antenna on the burner and placed the UV source inside the ceramic base of the lamp instead.