Patent ID: 7586270

Claim:
A system, comprising: a first node configured to couple to a first potential; a second node configured to couple to a second potential; a first capacitor coupled between the first node and a third node, wherein the third node is configured to couple to a miniature high pressure short arc gas discharge lamp; a second capacitor coupled between the third node and the second node; a first switch coupled between the first node and a fourth node; a second switch coupled between the fourth node and the second node; a resonance circuit coupled between the fourth node and the third node and configured to resonant at a resonance frequency, the resonance circuit comprising: an inductor coupled between the fourth node and a fifth node configured to couple to a secondary winding of an ignition transformer; a sixth node configured to couple to the secondary winding of the ignition transformer and to the miniature high pressure short arc gas discharge lamp; and a third capacitor coupled between the third node and the fifth node; a resistor coupled between the third capacitor and the third node; and a controller configured to control the first and second switches in an ignited steady state with a toggling period having a frequency lower than the resonance frequency, such that the first switch is closed when the second switch is opened, the second switch is closed when the first switch is opened, and an output between the sixth and third nodes has a saw-tooth wave form with a falling amplitude in a half-cycle of the toggling period and a peak resonance component immediately after toggling, wherein a voltage at the lamp has a resonant oscillation with the resonance frequency superimposed on a basic voltage supplied by the first and second capacitors, and respective capacitance values of the first and second capacitors and the controller of the toggling period are configured to provide a saw-tooth declination of the basic voltage with a decline in amplitude within the half cycle of the toggling period from an initial basic voltage to approximately half the initial basic voltage.