Abstract: An excitation coil for a high intensity discharge lamp has an optimized configuration for maximizing efficiency and minimizing output light blockage. The coil includes a conductive surface having a shape which corresponds to rotating a bilaterally symmetrical trapezoid about a coil center line in the same plane as the trapezoid without intersecting the center line. The conductive surface is disposed on a conductive core for efficient heat removal from the coil, resulting in reduced coil losses. In one embodiment, the coil cross section is increased by adding a rectangular portion to the trapezoidal portion, thereby extending the coil outwardly from the coil center line so as to remove heat from the coil more quickly without affecting light output from the lamp.