Q-Lab supplies the highest quality UV fluorescent lamps available. The technology behind the lamps produces a spectrum that is inherently stable throughout their use.

Each manufacturing lot is required to pass a stringent series of tests before it is approved for sale. The result is that the QUV tester provides a consistent, stable spectrum, year after year.

Different types of UV lamps

Several different types of UV lamps are available for different applications:

UVA lamps

• UVA-340 lamps give an excellent simulation of sunlight in the critical short wavelength region from 365 nm down to the solar cut-on of 295 nm.
• UVA-340+ “plus” lamps enable testing at elevated irradiances – up to 1.70 W/m2/nm – that meet or exceed the highest irradiance values called for in major test standards.
• UVA-351 lamps simulate the UV portion of sunlight filtered through window glass
• Cool White lamps are also available to simulate office environments.

UVB Lamps

• UVB-313EL (and legacy QFS-40) lamps deliver short-wave UV more severe than the UV normally found at the earth’s surface. UVB-313 lamps are most useful for QC and R&D applications or for testing exceptionally durable materials.
• UBV-313-EL+ lamps are also available to provide high irradiance levels for the harshest fluorescent UV tests. Care should be taken to ensure failure mechanisms are realistic when using UVB lamps.

UVC Lamps

• UVC lamps deliver high-intensity shortwave UV light at 254 nm, which is well below the solar cut-on. This represents the most common UVC emission used for disinfection of surfaces exposed to harmful bacteria and viruses. While it can kill these pathogens effectively, UVC light can also cause degradation of plastics, coatings, and fabrics. UVC lamps reproduce this damaging irradiance, in order to evaluate durability of materials exposed to UVC light.

TUV-421 lamps

• TUV-421 lamps provide the same excellent shortwave UV match to natural sunlight as UVA-340 lamps, but with the addition of long-wavelength UV and short-wavelength visible light. This helps reproduce color change effects in materials sensitive to longer-wavelength irradiance.

More information

Product leaflet: q-lab-a-choice-of-lamps-for-quv.pdf