Performance control system and method for gas discharge lasers

US6212214A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Lambda Physik AG · DE

Inventors

• Klaus Vogler · Eckental, DE
• Peter Heist · Jena, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 23, 1999
• Grant date: Apr 3, 2001
• Expiry date: Aug 23, 2019

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01S3/22
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method is provided for determining the status of a gas mixture of a laser system including a gas discharge laser which generates an output beam and has a discharge chamber containing a gas mixture within which energy is supplied to the gas mixture by a power supply via application of a driving voltage to a discharge circuit. A master data set of an output parameter such as any of output beam energy, bandwidth, spectrum width, long axial beam profile, short axial beam profile, beam divergence, energy stability, energy efficiency, width of the discharge, temporal beam coherence, spatial beam coherence, spatial pulse width, amplified spontaneous emission and temporal pulse width versus an input parameter such as driving voltage is generated corresponding to an optimal gas mixture status, preferably after a new fill and typically at the factory, and alternatively following a new fill at the fab. Preferably several master data sets are measured and stored following new fills corresponding to various ages and other conditions of the laser system. The master data set is stored into a memory of the control system. Several more calibration data sets are also preferably generated correspon…