Choosing a Light Source

Newport's Oriel® Instruments light source offerings are varied and significant. With so many options, it can be difficult to choose the best system for your application. For light source technical information, see the links below. For a summary of the major advantages of each type of light source see below. Also, don't hesitate to contact us to consult with our Light Sources specialists to ensure that you choose the right light source for your application.

Ask yourself the following questions to help determine the type of light source required:

1) What wavelength(s) or wavelength region do I need?

Using the information below you can match a light source to your wavelength requirements.

2) What output power do i need?

You can use the spectral irradiance curves for the lamps to help you calculate the output power from an Oriel light source. You may need to compare the results of of several light sources to get the desired power at the required wavelength(s), as a lamps input power is not directly correlated to output power.

Spectral irradiance curves for our lamps and solar simulators can be found at their respective product family and product detail pages. See Using Spectral Irradiance Curves and Information on Spectral Irradiance Data for more information on how to use the curves, and how curve data was obtained.