Filter Technology simulates terrestrial sunlight.
Press Release Summary:
Right Light(TM) filter, when combined with Xenon-arc light technology, quartz outer filter, or CIRA (coated infrared absorbing) outer filter, provides full spectrum match to natural sunlight. Due to quality of cut-on to short wavelength UV match, experimenters can increase irradiance levels for accelerated operation without compromising correlation. Solution provides appropriate UV spectrum for weathering of automotive coatings and eliminates anomalous test results.
Original Press Release:
Atlas Announces Breakthrough Filter Technology - The Right Light(TM) Filter
January 24, 2008, Chicago, IL - Atlas is proud to announce a new filter that will revolutionize xenon-arc filter technology called the Atlas Right Light(TM) filter, available in May 2008. The Right Light filter, when combined with Atlas' state-of-the-art Xenon-arc light technology, a quartz outer filter or a newly developed CIRA (coated infrared absorbing) outer filter, provides the closest full spectrum match to natural sunlight available.
Recent applications done with the Right Light filter combination have shown that material degradation more closely matches that of end-use service environments. Additionally, since the cut-on to the short wavelength UV matches so well, experimenters can increase irradiance levels for greater acceleration without compromising correlation.
"The precise simulation of terrestrial sunlight, particularly in the short UV range, is even more critical for reliable weatherabilty testing of automotive coatings than originally thought," said Mark Nichols of Ford Motor Company. "Xenon light used in conjunction with the Right Light(TM) filter provides the appropriate ultraviolet spectrum for weathering of today's complex automotive coatings."
The ultimate goal of weathering instrument manufacturers like Atlas has been to match the natural sunlight spectral power distribution (SPD), especially in the short wavelength UV. It is most critical to match shorter wavelengths of the solar spectrum, which are higher in photon energy, because any mismatch is likely to cause anomalous test results.
An inner and outer Type S Borosilicate filter combination has historically been used to produce an SPD comparable to direct sunlight. The SPD produced by this combination is relatively close, and meets performance-based standards requirements for "daylight" filters, such as ASTM G155 and SAE J2527. The CIRA filter in combination with a Soda Lime outer filter has recently been offered as an improved match for Sunlight SPD. Though both of these combinations were good and represented the "best available," there were still deficiencies.
