Market leader with a unique technology The Swiss firm mb-microtec developed the technology to produce GTLS ( gaseous tritium light sources ) so small, they can be installed on the hands and dial of your wristwatch.
These light sources, marketed as «trigalight» or «mb-microtec illumination» are independent of a battery or any other source of outside energy, never need recharging or servicing and do not require the push of a button. They glow permanently and a 100 times brighter than anything comparable, for up to twenty years.
mb-microtec employs around 50 people and is located in Niederwangen just outside Bern in Switzerland. Self luminating light Sources for EXIT signs in hotel corridors or on airplanes to lead people to safety in an emergency with power failure, were some of the early and more traditional applications of this technology.
The technology Decades of research in the field of radio luminescence preceded the development and commercial use of mb-microtec «trigalight» in watches. «trigalight» are tiny glass vials, coated on the inside with a phosphorescent material and subsequently filled with a minute amounts of tritium gas. Electrons emitted from the gas excite the material to give of a permanent cold Light.
Depending on the type of phosphorescent material used, «trigalight» can be made to give off light in different colours. Green is the preferred colour because the human eye perceives it to be the brightest. Orange is also available and only slightly less bright. Blue is an option as well but primarily used in watches for divers because under water, blue remains visible at up to 60m / 187 feet in depth, longer or deeper than any other colour.
The serial production of «trigalight» requires precision technology. With a high tech laser, specifically developed for this purpose by mb-microtec, individual light sources are cut and sealed airtight so no gas ever escapes. After continuously improving the production process mb-microtec today manufactures «trigalight» which only measure 0.5mm in diameter and as little as 1.2 mm in length. Unmatched in either size (small) or quality (brightness and longevity) mb-microtecs «trigalight» are state of the art and without equal in the marketplace.