Laser system and method for spectral narrowing through wavefront correction

An excimer or molecular fluorine laser system, comprising:

• a discharge chamber filled with a gas mixture at least including molecular fluorine and a buffer gas;
• a plurality of electrodes within the discharge chamber connected to a power supply circuit for energizing the gas mixture;
• a resonator for generating a laser beam;
• a line-narrowing unit within the resonator;
• and
• a wavefront compensating plate disposed within the resonator for adjusting the curvature of the wavefront of the beam for compensating wavefront distortions and thereby enhancing the spectral purity of the beam.

An excimer or molecular fluorine laser system, comprising:

• a discharge chamber filled with a gas mixture at least including molecular fluorine and a buffer gas;
• a plurality of electrodes within the discharge chamber connected to a power supply circuit for energizing the gas mixture;
• a resonator for generating a laser beam;
• a line-narrowing unit within the resonator;
• and
• a wavefront compensating optic disposed within the resonator and sealably enclosing said gas mixture as a window of said discharge chamber, the wavefront compensating optic for adjusting the curvature of the wavefront of the beam for compensating wavefront distortions and thereby enhancing the spectral purity of the beam.

An excimer or molecular fluorine laser system, comprising:

• a discharge chamber filled with a gas mixture at least including molecular fluorine and a buffer gas;
• a plurality of electrodes within the discharge chamber connected to a power supply circuit for energizing the gas mixture;
• a resonator for generating a laser beam;
• a line-narrowing unit within the resonator;
• and
• a wavefront compensating optic disposed within the resonator between the line-narrowing unit and the discharge chamber, the wavefront compensating optic for adjusting the curvature of the wavefront of the beam for compensating wavefront distortions and thereby enhancing the spectral purity of the beam.

An excimer or molecular fluorine laser system, comprising:

• a discharge chamber filled with a gas mixture at least including molecular fluorine and a buffer gas;
• a plurality of electrodes within the discharge chamber connected to a power supply circuit for energizing the gas mixture;
• a resonator for generating a laser beam;
• a line-narrowing unit within the resonator;
• and
• a wavefront compensating optic disposed within the resonator such that the discharge chamber is disposed between the line-narrowing unit and the wavefront compensating optic, the wavefront compensating optic for adjusting the curvature of the wavefront of the beam for compensating wavefront distortions and thereby enhancing the spectral purity of the beam.

A gas discharge laser system, comprising:

• a discharge chamber filled with a gas mixture at least including molecular fluorine and a buffer gas;
• a plurality of electrodes within the discharge chamber connected to a power supply circuit for energizing the gas mixture;
• a resonator for generating a laser beam;
• a line-narrowing unit within the resonator including a plurality of optical components;
• and
• an enclosure including a plurality of sealed-off compartments, wherein each compartment includes therein at least one optical component of the line-narrowing unit, and an atmosphere within each compartment is controlled for controlling a spectral parameter of the beam.

A gas discharge laser system, comprising:

• a discharge chamber filled with a gas mixture at least including molecular fluorine and a buffer gas;
• a plurality of electrodes within the discharge chamber connected to a power supply circuit for energizing the gas mixture;
• a resonator for generating a laser beam;
• a line-narrowing unit within the resonator including a plurality of optical components;
• and
• an enclosure including a plurality of sealed-off compartments, wherein ach compartment includes therein at least one optical component of the line-narrowing unit, and the wavefront compensating optic is sealably disposed between adjacent compartments.