A versatile power source for HID lamps

One of the results of the EU COST action n/spl deg/529, "Efficient Lighting for the 21/sup st/ century", is a standard HID lamp with prototypes available since January 2005. As one of the purposes of this lamp is its use as a research tool, various solutions to supply the lamp with electrical power can be used. A versatile power source will be presented, permitting to operate and study HID lamps under a variety of driving conditions, including current control. The most important properties of this device are discussed in this paper.