High-repetition rate UV lasers with inductive-capacitive discharge stabilization

Abstract

The high repetition rate UV lasers (XeF [1], KrF [2] and N 2 ) with a new electrode unit are investigated. A multisectional discharge gap 25 cm length and 1.2 cm height is formed by 25 pairs of anode-cathode plates. The discharge width is a 1 mm. The average specific pump power is a 9 MW cm -3 . The main aim of the work is the achievement of a maximum pulse repetition rate ( f m ) with high output energy stability. At a rather low gas flow velociity l 19 m s -1 the frequencies f as high as 4 kHz in the excimer lasers and 4.5 kHz in a nitrogen laser are realized. The relative rms deviations of the output energy (s) for XeF and KrF lasers is in the range 1-2% for f l 3 kHz and 3-4% for f = 4 kHz. For the nitrogen laser s l 1.3% is at f l 4.5 kGt.The average output power 10 (12) W for the XeF (KrF) laser and 1.1 W for the nitrogen laser are reached.