Enhanced performance of a repetitively pulsed 130 mJ KrF laser with improved pre-ionization parameters

Abstract

Studies related to the effect of pre-ionizer on laser output energy of a repetitively pulsed KrF laser are presented. The dependence of laser output energy, spectral width and beam spot homogeneity on pre-ionization parameters, namely its current and voltage rise time are reported here. Here, effectiveness of pre-ionization is optimized by improving pre-ionization current and rise time of the pump pulse of the automatic UV pre-ionizer KrF laser. It is observed that by increasing pre-ionization current from 6 kA to 10.6 kA, the output energy increases by about 30% (from 100 to 130 mJ). It is also observed that the emission spectral width reduces by almost 60% by increasing the pre-ionization current. Regular homogeneous and well-developed beam spot (nearly Hat-Top profile) was achieved under these optimized conditions.