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Title: XeCl excimer laser with new prism resonator configurations and its performance characteristics

Abstract

New resonator cavity configurations, namely, the prism resonator and unstable prism resonator, are demonstrated for the first time in an excimer (XeCl) laser with interesting and novel results. High misalignment tolerance ∼50 mrad is achieved with considerably reduced beam divergence of less than ∼1 mrad without reduction in output power capabilities of the laser. The misalignment tolerance of ∼50 mrad is a dramatic improvement of ∼25 times compared to ∼2 mrad normally observed in standard excimer laser with plane-plane cavity. Increase in depth of focus from 3 mm to 5.5 mm was also achieved in case of prism resonator configuration with an improvement of about 60%. Unstable prism resonator configuration is demonstrated here in this paper with further reduction in beam divergence to about 0.5 mrad using plano-convex lens as output coupler. The misalignment tolerance in case of unstable prism resonator was retained at about 30 mrad which is a high value compared to standard unstable resonators. The output beam spot was completely filled with flat-top profile with prism resonator configurations, which is desired for various material processing applications. Focusing properties and beam divergence in case of prism resonator have been investigated using SEM (scanning electron microscope) images. SEM imagesmore » of the focused spot size (∼20 μm holes) on metal sheet indicate beam divergence of about 0.05 mrad which is about 1.5 times diffraction limit. Energy contained in this angle is thus sufficient for micro-machining applications. Clean and sharp edges of the micro-holes show high pointing stability with multiple shot exposures. Such characteristics of the excimer laser system will be extremely useful in micro-machining and other field applications.« less

Authors:
; ;  [1]
  1. Excimer Laser Section, LMPD, Raja Ramanna Center for Advanced Technology, Indore 452013 (India)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22482702
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Review of Scientific Instruments
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 86; Journal Issue: 7; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0034-6748
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; BEAMS; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; CONFIGURATION; EXCIMER LASERS; IMAGES; MACHINING; PRISMS; RESONATORS; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

Citation Formats

Benerji, N. S., E-mail: nsb@rrcat.gov.in, E-mail: bsingh@rrcat.gov.in, Singh, A., Varshnay, N., and Singh, Bijendra. XeCl excimer laser with new prism resonator configurations and its performance characteristics. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4927170.
Benerji, N. S., E-mail: nsb@rrcat.gov.in, E-mail: bsingh@rrcat.gov.in, Singh, A., Varshnay, N., & Singh, Bijendra. XeCl excimer laser with new prism resonator configurations and its performance characteristics. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4927170
Benerji, N. S., E-mail: nsb@rrcat.gov.in, E-mail: bsingh@rrcat.gov.in, Singh, A., Varshnay, N., and Singh, Bijendra. 2015. "XeCl excimer laser with new prism resonator configurations and its performance characteristics". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4927170.
@article{osti_22482702,
title = {XeCl excimer laser with new prism resonator configurations and its performance characteristics},
author = {Benerji, N. S., E-mail: nsb@rrcat.gov.in, E-mail: bsingh@rrcat.gov.in and Singh, A. and Varshnay, N. and Singh, Bijendra},
abstractNote = {New resonator cavity configurations, namely, the prism resonator and unstable prism resonator, are demonstrated for the first time in an excimer (XeCl) laser with interesting and novel results. High misalignment tolerance ∼50 mrad is achieved with considerably reduced beam divergence of less than ∼1 mrad without reduction in output power capabilities of the laser. The misalignment tolerance of ∼50 mrad is a dramatic improvement of ∼25 times compared to ∼2 mrad normally observed in standard excimer laser with plane-plane cavity. Increase in depth of focus from 3 mm to 5.5 mm was also achieved in case of prism resonator configuration with an improvement of about 60%. Unstable prism resonator configuration is demonstrated here in this paper with further reduction in beam divergence to about 0.5 mrad using plano-convex lens as output coupler. The misalignment tolerance in case of unstable prism resonator was retained at about 30 mrad which is a high value compared to standard unstable resonators. The output beam spot was completely filled with flat-top profile with prism resonator configurations, which is desired for various material processing applications. Focusing properties and beam divergence in case of prism resonator have been investigated using SEM (scanning electron microscope) images. SEM images of the focused spot size (∼20 μm holes) on metal sheet indicate beam divergence of about 0.05 mrad which is about 1.5 times diffraction limit. Energy contained in this angle is thus sufficient for micro-machining applications. Clean and sharp edges of the micro-holes show high pointing stability with multiple shot exposures. Such characteristics of the excimer laser system will be extremely useful in micro-machining and other field applications.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4927170},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22482702}, journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
issn = {0034-6748},
number = 7,
volume = 86,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Wed Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}