Patent ID: 7595592

Claim:
A discharge lamp, comprising: a bulb having a sealing portion located at an end of the bulb; a pair of discharge electrodes arranged within the bulb; a pair of externally extending lead wires located in the sealing portion; and at least one metal foil enclosed within the sealing portion of the bulb and connecting at least one of the discharge electrodes to at least one of the externally extending lead wires, wherein the at least one metal foil includes a first edge of the metal foil that is perpendicular to an elongated length of the lamp and a second edge of the metal foil that is perpendicular to the elongated length of the lamp, and the metal foil is provided with a stress alleviating portion that is configured to alleviate stress due to temperature variations, and the stress alleviating portion includes cuts extending beyond the first edge of the metal foil and beyond the second edge of the metal foil.