Deuterium arc lamp

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Emission spectrum of an ultraviolet deuterium arc lamp clearly showing characteristic hydrogen emission lines (sharp peaks at 656 nm and 486 nm) and continuum emission in the ~160-400 nm region. The emission spectrum of deuterium differs slightly from that of protium due to the influence of hyperfine interactions, though these effects alter the wavelength of the lines by mere fractions of a nanometer and are too fine to be discerned by the spectrometer used here.

A deuterium arc lamp or simply deuterium lamp is a low pressure gas discharge light source often used in spectroscopy when a full spectrum (continuous) source of illumination in the ultraviolet region is needed. The origin of the continuum ultraviolet radiation which extends from around 160 nanometers to 400 nanometers arises not from the relatively simple process of decay of atomic excited states ("atomic emission") but instead from "molecular emission" processes, where radiative decay of excited states, in this case of molecular deuterium (D₂) cause the effect. This effect is somewhat analogous to the visible light continuum molecular emission of sulfur lamps.

L i g h t i n g   and   L a m p s
Incandescent:	Incandescent light bulb>Conventional - Halogen - Parabolic Aluminized Reflector (PAR)
Fluorescent:	Compact fluorescent lamp>Compact Fluorescent (CFL) - Linear fluorescent - Induction lamp
Gas discharge:	High-intensity discharge lamp>High-Intensity Discharge (HID) - Mercury-vapor - Metal-halide - Neon - Sodium vapor
Electric arc:	Arc lamp - Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide>HMI - Xenon arc - Yablochkov candle
Combustion:	Carbide lamp>Acetylene/Carbide - Candle - Gas lighting - Kerosene lamp - Limelight - Oil lamp - Safety lamp
Other types:	Sulfur lamp - Light-emitting diode>Light-Emitting Diode (LED) - Optical fiber - Plasma

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