Ultraviolet solid state laser, method of using same and laser surgery apparatus

A method for generating a deep ultraviolet wavelength from an input beam having a wavelength of approximately one micron, the method comprising the steps of:

• generating, in a harmonic conversion stage, a second beam having a fifth harmonic of said input beam, said harmonic conversion stage formed from at least first and second CLBO non-linear crystals oriented to compensate for walkoff;
• generating, in a tunable optical parametric oscillator, a third beam having a wavelength of approximately 2 microns, said tunable optical parametric oscillator including a periodically poled non-linear crystal;
• and
• mixing, in a sum frequency generator, said fifth harmonic of said input beam and said third beam to generate a deep ultraviolet wavelength output beam.

An apparatus for performing an operation using a deep ultraviolet wavelength beam, the apparatus comprising:

• an ultraviolet laser system comprising
• a laser source producing an input beam having a wavelength of about 1 micron;
• a harmonic generation stage, coupled to receive said input beam, for producing a fifth harmonic of said input beam;
• a tunable optical parametric oscillator formed from a non-linear crystal coupled to receive said input beam and to produce an infrared beam;
• a sum frequency generator coupled to mix said near-infrared beam and said fifth harmonic of said input beam to produce said deep ultraviolet output beam;
• and
• output means, for applying said deep ultraviolet output beam to perform said operation.

A method for generating a deep ultraviolet wavelength from an input beam having a wavelength of approximately one micron, the method comprising the steps of:

• generating, in a harmonic conversion stage, a second beam having a fourth harmonic of said input beam, said harmonic conversion stage formed from at least a first CLBO non-linear crystal oriented to compensate for walkoff;
• generating, in a tunable optical parametric oscillator, a third beam having a wavelength of approximately 1.2 to 1.6 microns, said tunable optical parametric oscillator including a periodically poled non-linear crystal;
• mixing, in a first sum frequency generator, said fourth harmonic of said input beam and said third beam to generate a fourth beam;
• and
• mixing, in a second sum frequency generator, said fourth beam and said third beam to generate a deep ultraviolet output beam.

A laser system, comprising:

• a solid state laser adapted to produce a first beam having a first wavelength near 1 micron;
• a first non-linear crystal for generating a second harmonic of said first beam;
• a first CLBO non-linear crystal, coupled to receive said first beam and said second harmonic of said first beam, for generating a fourth harmonic of said first beam;
• and
• a second CLBO non-linear crystal, coupled to receive said first beam and said fourth harmonic of said first beam, for generating a fifth harmonic of said first beam.