Lambda Physik Ag

Andriy N Knysh

Sergei V Govorkov

Igor Bragin

Rainer Paetzel

Rainer Desor

Andreas Targsdorf

Alexander O Wiessner

The relative timing delay between channels of a discharge circuit can be adjusted through application of appropriate control voltages. A control voltage of relatively long duration and relatively small voltage, with respect to a common system pulse, can be applied to any channel in order to adjust the relative timing delay. This control voltage can be, for example, a magnetization pre-pulse voltage applied to an indictor for a channel in order to adjust a hold-off time. A synchronization control unit and feedback loop can be used to monitor the timing, such that the syncronization control unit can apply a control voltage when a delay change exceeds a timing adjustment threshold value, and can apply a pre-ionization voltage when the delay change is less than the adjustment threshold value. Using both a control voltage and a pre-ionization voltage provides for both coarse and fine adjustment of the delay.

MOPA excimer or molecular fluorine laser system with improved synchronization

Precise timing control can be obtained for a gas discharge laser, such as an excimer or molecular fluorine laser, using a timed trigger ionization. Instead of using a standard approach to control the timing of the emission or amplification of an optical pulse using the discharge of the main electrodes, the timing of which can only be controlled to within about 10 ns, a trigger ionization pulse applied subsequent to the charging of the main electrodes can be used to control the timing of the discharge, thereby decreasing the timing variations to about 1 ns. Since ionization of the laser gas can consume relatively small amounts of energy, such a circuit can be based on a fast, high-voltage, solid state switch that is virtually free of jitter. Trigger ionization also can be used to synchronize the timing of dual chambers in a MOPA configuration. In one such approach, ionization trigger can include at least a portion of the optical pulse from the oscillator in a MOPA configuration.

Excimer or molecular fluorine laser with several discharge chambers

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Boca Raton, FL, United States of America

Andriy N Knysh