Patents were issued in 1959, and by 1960 the halogen was improved upon by other engineers so that it was cheaper to produce and market. Since the 1980s the lamps have been made lighter in weight.
Early work done before the 1950s includes William D. Coolidge's work developing ductile tungsten in 1911. This material is used in many lamp types including the halogen lamp. Irving Langmuir studied gas filling and doping of tungsten to lengthen bulb life from 1905 - 1940s.