Qualitative model of the operating mechanism of the protective coating for low pressure Hg lamps

Interaction between the plasma and protective coating on the inner side of low pressure mercury lamp bulbs is considered. Under the assumption that the main way of decreasing the transmission of the bulb wall is the implantation of Hg ions within the fused quartz and formation of complexes [HgO] therein, a qualitative model of the attenuation mechanism is offered. The influence of the characteristics of a coating (thickness, close-packed structures, the lattice parameter, mass of atoms) on the transmission of the bulb walls is analysed. On the basis of the suggested model, estimates of the change in minimum transmission of bulb walls were made for lamps with and without protective coating. It is shown that in spite of approximations, the proposed model is in good agreement with experimental data