Gas performance control system for gas discharge lasers
AssigneeLambda Physik AG
InventorsMarcus Serwazi, Thomas Jünemann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An excimer or molecular fluorine laser system includes a discharge chamber containing a gas mixture, multiple electrodes connected to a power supply circuit for energizing the gas mixture, a resonator for generating a laser beam, a processor, and means for monitoring an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) signal of the laser, such as preferably an ASE detector. The processor receives a signal from the preferred ASE detector indicative of the ASE signal of the laser. Based on the signal from the ASE detector, the processor determines whether to initiate a responsive action for adjusting a parameter of the laser system.
Claims43
An excimer or molecular fluorine laser system, comprising:
- a discharge chamber containing a gas mixture;
- a plurality of electrodes connected to a power supply circuit for energizing the gas mixture;
- a resonator for generating a laser beam;
- a processor;
- and
- an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) detector, and
- wherein the processor receives a signal from the ASE detector indicative of the ASE signal of the laser, and
- wherein said ASE detector detects a filtered signal, wherein a substantial portion of a stimulated emission signal of the laser beam is filtered from the laser beam prior to monitoring said ASE signal, and
- wherein said ASE detector comprises a stimulated emission filter for substantially filtering the stimulated emission from a portion of the laser beam to permit the ASE signal to be resolved from the laser beam, such that the proportion of the ASE signal within the beam portion upon being filtered at said stimulated emission filter is increased to more than 2%.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.