Abstract: An electrodeless high intensity arc discharge lamp employs an excitation coil comprised of a high-temperature metal, such as tungsten or molybdenum, wound directly on the hot quartz envelope of the arc tube within the interior of the outer glass envelope of the lamp, thereby requiring substantially lower current and voltage from the power supply than such lamps having external excitation coils, while emitting less electromagnetic noise. The excitation coil losses are comparable to those of the external excitation coils or prior electrodeless high intensity arc discharge lamps.