Interest in the invention of xenon lamps was first created by Philips Schulz in 1944. Due to wartime restrictions on access to this noble gas, significant progress was not made until John Aldington of the British company Siemens published his research in 1949.

This caused many efforts in the German company Osram to further develop this technology as an alternative to carbon arcs in cinema screening. The xenon lamp has two electrodes that are placed in a glass bubble filled with xenon gas. A high voltage is applied to the electrodes, which momentarily release sparks and light is produced. Xenon lamps were developed in the 1940s and finally introduced in 1951 by the German company Osram.

They were a viable replacement for inefficient carbon lamps and are used in cinemas around the world today. Compared to halogens and LEDs, xenon bulbs not only provide more brightness, improved visibility, and a longer estimated life, approximately 2,000 hours—compared to the average halogen light, which only lasts about 450 to 1,000 hours. It is interesting to know that the 1991 BMW 7 Series was the first car to use xenon to illuminate its path.