BASIC CONCEPTS OF RADIATION - Environmental UV Radiation: Impact on Ecosystems and Human Health and Predictive Models - page 22

Table A2 . UV sources used in photobiological research.

Optical Source Wavelength

Function

Spectral
Radiance*
(W/cm -2 sr -1 nm -1 )

Spectral
Bandwidth

Advantages

Tungsten Halogen Lamp monochromator 3 x 10 -4 5-nm inexpensive

1 x 10 -2 High Pressure Xenon Arc monochromator 5-nm relatively flat SPD

4 x 10 -7 @ 297 nm

Low Pressure Mercury
Quartz Lamp

monochromator < 1-nm inexpensive; good

spectral purity

> 10 -7

Laser laser transition or

non-linear optical
tuning

<< 1-nm excellent spectral

purity

* The radiance (“source brightness”) determines the radiant energy that can be collimated and directed
through a monochromator or focused on target tissue.