Company Insight

Sponsored by trigalight

The self-powered illumination allrounder for every situation

trigalight stands for the unique self-powered illumination technology with the world’s smallest gaseous tritium light sources (GTLS), delivering luminescence for decades without external energy sources. Since the invention of the technology, trigalight has been standing for reliability, safety and efficiency, driving its core competencies forward with its new polymer insert for night sights.

trigalight is a brand of mb-microtec ag, a microtechnology company founded in 1969 in Niederwangen near Bern, Switzerland. mb-microtec ag is the inventor and global market leader in the development and production of this unique self-powered illumination technology that is primarily used in the tactical, watch, security, automotive, aerospace, and aeronautical industry. Around one hundred qualified employees work at the Swiss headquarters of the family-owned company, which has comprehensive knowledge in the fields of microtechnology, chemistry and physics as well as state-of-the-art infrastructure. Up to 90 percent of the Swiss made goods are exported.

Swiss made quality and precision

Manufacturing takes place entirely at the mb-microtec headquarters in Niederwangen, Switzerland. trigalight is specialized in the highly automated manufacturing of customer-specific tritium-containing micro components and develops both the processes as well as parts of the production systems. Years of experience and comprehensive knowledge in the fields of microtechnology, chemistry and physics enable the further development of the company’s key technologies. Development of customer-specific solutions takes place in close, trustful cooperation with partners worldwide. Quality, care and innovativeness shape the work of the Swiss family-owned company.

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How trigalight works

A trigalight consists of a hermetically sealed glass capillary, the inside of which is coated with the luminescent powder zinc sulphide and filled with tritium gas. Tritium is a soft beta emitter and decays with a half-life of 12.32 years, sending out electrons which activate the luminescent powder and create constant luminescence. Since the electrons cannot pass through the hermetically sealed glass capillaries and tritium only has very weak activity, trigalight does not emit any harmful radiation. The glass capillaries have a robust design and come prepared for direct assembly. trigalight is the first choice for everybody who always wants to keep sight of their target.

Wide variety – different colors and shapes

Aside from a broad range of standardized products, mb-microtec offers individualized illumination solutions. Fully targeted to its area of use, trigalight can be manufactured customer and application specific. While green is perceived brightest by the human eye, the capillaries are available in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and as prefabricated assemblies for direct installation. The fine illumination capillaries usually measure an outer diameter of 1.2 to 1.5 millimeters. trigalight’s field of application is as varied as the capillaries themselves: With Tactical Inserts, the trigalight is protected by an aluminum sleeve, while the Next Generation Insert (NGI) is installed in a temperature and solvent-resistant polymer sleeve. Both are protected by a robust sapphire crystal. The ultra-small trigalight are used in iron sights, while the larger illumination capillaries lead the way in compasses, arc markers, tactical torches, and rifle scopes. With the ECO Insert, a thermoformed polymer sleeve provides the trigalight with added resilience, thus allowing for direct assembly into iron sights. The polymer sleeve is available in various colors and appears as a ring when installed. That way, ECO Inserts provide high day and night visibility while keeping cost low. Thanks to their compact and robust design, the ready-to-install capillaries can be integrated into a variety of tactical applications.

Well-tried, newly interpreted

The existing insert collection is now being expanded by the new polymer insert. Embodying the best characteristics of its predecessors, it combines them in an allrounder fit for use in nearly every situation.


An advantage of the new insert lies in its high performance at a reduced price. While the resilience and visibility of the light capillaries is oftentimes dependent on their integration in the end product, the polymer sleeve of the new insert provides consistent protection and ensures easy integration. The modularly expandible insert comes with high temperature and chemical resistance to meet the specific demands of the professional defense industry .


Along with resilience and integration, visibility was also improved: during challenging visibility conditions, trigalight provides a reliable target registration due to its consistently high luminescence. The extendibility of the base concept through a modular day ring provides ideal visibility in bright environments. Optionally, an afterglow coating of the day ring provides for increased luminescence of the insert.

Consequent Evolution

With increased visibility, innate robustness and low integration costs, trigalight has further developed its illumination technology once again – to stand unwaveringly by the side of even more tactical personnel operating in difficult visibility conditions with its new polymer insert.


Concentration, precision and reliability become essential for the safety of service members, troops, and armed forces. Targeted towards these circumstances, the self-powered illumination technology trigalight fulfills highest quality standards for the application in the tactical field: Freedom from maintenance, resilience, versatility, and a constant luminescence for decades without an external energy source are the distinguishing factors of all trigalight products.

Contact Information

trigalight

a brand of mb-microtec ag
Freiburgstrasse 624
3172 Niederwangen
Switzerland

+41 (0)31 980 20 20

+41 (0)31 980 20 21