Laser gas inlet and processing device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of laser air intake and processing device, including flushing gas supply unit, laser mixed gas supply unit, laser air intake control unit and exhaust purification unit, the gas outlet end of flushing gas supply unit, the gas outlet end of laser mixed gas supply unit respectively through pipeline and the air intake end of laser intercommunication, the laser air intake control unit is set on the pipeline of laser air intake end, the pipeline of the air intake end of exhaust purification unit and the gas outlet end of flushing gas supply unit pipeline intercommunication.The laser air intake and processing device provided by the utility model can safely and stably supply gas for excimer laser system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of gas delivery and exhaust gas treatment technology for excimer laser systems, and in particular to a laser gas inlet and treatment device. Background Technology

[0002] In an excimer laser system, the laser-mixed gas undergoes a series of physical and chemical reactions triggered by external energy, forming fleeting molecules with a lifetime of only tens of nanoseconds. The resulting excimer laser has a wavelength of 193 nm and is an ultraviolet light wave. Excimer lasers are used in medicine to treat refractive errors and are currently a widely used, safe, rapid, effective, and stable treatment method. The active laser medium in the excimer laser system is a mixture of argon fluoride (ArF) gas. Under certain pressure conditions, a high-voltage discharge enters the laser gas, producing transient excited-state dimers or excimers. The relaxation of the excited state, combined with optical resonance, forms a short laser pulse. The pulse energy continues during repetitive discharges. The laser energy is almost entirely absorbed by the corneal epithelial cells and stroma; tissues beyond this range do not absorb the laser. Each laser pulse can ablate biological tissue with a thickness of 0.2µm to 0.25µm, achieving corneal remodeling. It can precisely ablate the desired portion of the cornea with cellular-level precision. Furthermore, its short wavelength does not penetrate the cornea, thus having no adverse effects on internal eye tissues. The excimer laser system requires two different gases for operation and maintenance: a laser mixture gas (ArF) containing the active laser medium, and an inert gas (He) for maintenance and servicing. The laser gas has a limited lifespan and needs to be replaced after several pulses.

[0003] Therefore, how to provide an automatic laser system air intake and processing device that can cope with the operation and maintenance of laser systems is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Utility Model Content

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this utility model provides a laser gas inlet and processing device, which can safely and stably supply gas to an excimer laser system.

[0005] The technical solution provided by this utility model is as follows:

[0006] A laser air intake and processing device includes a flushing gas supply unit, a laser mixed gas supply unit, a laser air intake control unit, and an exhaust purification unit. The outlet ends of the flushing gas supply unit and the laser mixed gas supply unit are respectively connected to the air intake end of the laser through pipes. The laser air intake control unit is installed on the pipe at the laser air intake end. The pipe at the air intake end of the exhaust purification unit is connected to the pipe at the outlet end of the flushing gas supply unit.

[0007] Preferably, the flushing gas supply unit includes a 5N helium gas cylinder, a first delivery pipeline, a first impurity filter, a first PCV pressure reducing valve, and a first ECV pneumatic valve. The first impurity filter, the first PCV pressure reducing valve, and the first ECV pneumatic valve are sequentially arranged on the first delivery pipeline along the delivery direction, and the 5N helium gas cylinder is located at the inlet of the first delivery pipeline.

[0008] Preferably, pressure sensors are respectively provided on the conveying pipeline between the impurity filter and the PCV pressure reducing valve, and on the conveying pipeline between the PCV pressure reducing valve and the ECV pneumatic valve.

[0009] Preferably, the laser mixed gas supply unit includes an argon fluoride cylinder, a second delivery pipeline, a second impurity filter, a second PCV pressure reducing valve, and a second ECV pneumatic valve. The second impurity filter, the second PCV pressure reducing valve, and the second ECV pneumatic valve are sequentially arranged on the second delivery pipeline along the delivery direction, and the argon fluoride cylinder is located at the inlet of the second delivery pipeline.

[0010] Preferably, pressure sensors are provided on the second conveying pipe between the second impurity filter and the second PCV pressure reducing valve, and on the second conveying pipe between the second PCV pressure reducing valve and the second ECV pneumatic valve.

[0011] Preferably, the laser air intake control unit includes a laser air intake valve, an automatic control button for controlling the automatic opening and closing of the laser air intake valve, and corresponding automatic control modules for controlling the flushing gas supply unit, the laser mixed gas supply unit, and the exhaust purification unit.

[0012] Preferably, the exhaust purification unit includes a third delivery pipeline, an argon fluoride gas filter, a vacuum pump, a third ECV pneumatic valve, and a one-way valve. The one-way valve is located at the front end of the argon fluoride gas filter, the third ECV pneumatic valve is located on the third delivery pipeline, and the vacuum pump is located at the exhaust end of the exhaust purification unit.

[0013] This invention has the following advantages over the prior art:

[0014] This invention relates to a laser gas intake and treatment device, which includes a flushing gas supply unit for more effective purification of the system environment during the initial gas intake phase. The device is controlled automatically via a PC, allowing for one-button operation and minimizing human intervention. The device incorporates displacement purging, emission, and vacuuming functions to meet purification requirements. A laser mixed gas supply unit and a laser gas intake control unit, controlled automatically via a PC, enable the entire gas exchange process within the laser tube, ensuring cleanliness and protection from impurities and external environmental pollution. An exhaust purification unit is designed to treat and discharge toxic, harmful, and other unsafe gases generated during system operation, meeting safety emission standards. In summary, this invention provides a safe and stable gas supply for excimer laser systems. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the laser air intake and processing device in an embodiment of this utility model.

[0017] Figure label:

[0018] 1. Flushing gas supply unit; 11. 5N helium cylinder; 12. Delivery pipeline one; 13. Impurity filter one; 14. PCV pressure reducing valve one; 15. ECV pneumatic valve one; 2. Laser mixed gas supply unit; 21. Argon fluoride cylinder; 22. Delivery pipeline two; 23. Impurity filter two; 24. PCV pressure reducing valve two; 25. ECV pneumatic valve two; 3. Laser inlet control unit; 31. Laser inlet valve; 4. Exhaust purification unit; 41. Delivery pipeline three; 42. Argon fluoride gas filter; 43. Vacuum pump; 44. ECV pneumatic valve three; 45. Check valve. Detailed Implementation

[0019] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of this utility model, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this utility model, and not all of them. Based on the embodiments of this utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of this utility model.

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, this utility model embodiment provides a laser air intake and processing device, including a flushing gas supply unit 1, a laser mixed gas supply unit 2, a laser air intake control unit 3, and an exhaust purification unit 4. The outlet end of the flushing gas supply unit 1 and the outlet end of the laser mixed gas supply unit 3 are respectively connected to the air intake end of the laser 5 through pipes. The laser air intake control unit 3 is installed on the pipe at the air intake end of the laser 5. The pipe at the air intake end of the exhaust purification unit 4 is connected to the pipe at the outlet end of the flushing gas supply unit 1.

[0021] In this embodiment, the flushing gas supply unit 1 includes a 5N helium cylinder 11, a delivery pipeline 12, an impurity filter 13, a PCV pressure reducing valve 14, and an ECV pneumatic valve 15. The impurity filter 13, PCV pressure reducing valve 14, and ECV pneumatic valve 15 are sequentially arranged on the delivery pipeline 12 along the delivery direction, and the 5N helium cylinder 11 is located at the inlet of the delivery pipeline 12. The flushing gas supply unit 1 functions to exchange the laser mixed gas and purge and purify the system, preventing air impurities and moisture from contaminating the system and causing energy output degradation. By clicking the automatic control program button on the PC-side operation interface (the automatic control program on the PC-side operation interface is one or more combinations of existing publicly available control structures and program settings, and its control principle is consistent with the existing control of the opening and closing of solenoid valves and the combined control principle of pressure sensors and solenoid valves), the delivery pipeline 1 will be automatically purged, discharged, and vacuumed to purify the system environment.

[0022] In this embodiment, pressure sensors 6 are respectively installed on the conveying pipe 12 between the impurity filter 13 and the PCV pressure reducing valve 14, and on the conveying pipe 12 between the PCV pressure reducing valve 14 and the ECV pneumatic valve 15.

[0023] In this embodiment, the laser mixed gas supply unit 2 includes an argon fluoride cylinder 21, a second delivery pipeline 22, a second impurity filter 23, a second PCV pressure reducing valve 24, and a second ECV pneumatic valve 25. The second impurity filter 23, the second PCV pressure reducing valve 24, and the second ECV pneumatic valve 25 are sequentially arranged on the second delivery pipeline 22 along the delivery direction, and the argon fluoride cylinder 21 is located at the inlet of the second delivery pipeline 22. The laser mixed gas supply unit 2 is responsible for supplying the argon fluoride (ArF) mixed gas to the laser 5. The mixed gas filling and supply within the laser 5 is activated by clicking the automatic control program button on the PC-side operation interface.

[0024] In this embodiment, pressure sensors 6 are respectively installed on the conveying pipe 22 between the impurity filter 23 and the PCV pressure reducing valve 24, and on the conveying pipe 22 between the PCV pressure reducing valve 24 and the ECV pneumatic valve 25.

[0025] The laser gas inlet and processing device in this embodiment supports automatic gas exchange and purging procedures, including laser premixed gas (ArF) gas exchange, inert gas (He) line purging, and sub-tube purging. During laser operation or maintenance, two external gas cylinders (5N helium cylinder 11 and argon fluoride cylinder 21) are provided, which are respectively connected to laser premixed gas (ArF) and inert gas (He). The working pressure of the laser premixed gas (ArF) supplied to the laser is 0.6 to 0.8 MPa. The system is equipped with pressure interlock control to ensure stable system pressure supply.

[0026] In this embodiment, the laser intake control unit 3 includes a laser intake valve 31 and an automatic control button (not shown in the figure) for controlling the automatic opening and closing of the laser intake valve 31, as well as corresponding automatic control modules for controlling the flushing gas supply unit 1, the laser mixed gas supply unit 2, and the exhaust purification unit 4 (including automatic control of the opening and closing of PCV pressure reducing valve 14, ECV pneumatic valve 15, PCV pressure reducing valve 24, and ECV pneumatic valve 25, the specific control mode being the same as the control mode of the solenoid valve disclosed in the prior art).

[0027] In this embodiment, the exhaust purification unit 4 includes a delivery pipeline 41, an argon fluoride gas filter 42, a vacuum pump 43, an ECV pneumatic valve 44, and a check valve 45. The check valve 45 is located at the front end of the argon fluoride gas filter 42, the ECV pneumatic valve 44 is located on the delivery pipeline 41, and the vacuum pump 43 is located at the exhaust end of the exhaust purification unit 4.

[0028] In this embodiment, a 5N helium cylinder 11 is connected to the flushing gas supply cylinder connection terminal. The impurity filter 13 (FIL-02) is designed with a filtration efficiency of 0.003 microns, effectively filtering impurities from the helium cylinder. After adjusting the PCV pressure reducing valve 14 (PCV-He-01), the pressure is adjusted from 0.6 MPa to 0.8 MPa. The PC-side operating interface is activated, featuring an automatic flushing control button. Clicking the button initiates automatic system flushing. The ECV pneumatic valve 15 (ECV-He-01) will automatically open, pressurizing the system. When the pressure sensor 6 (PT-01) reaches 0.7 MPa, the ECV pneumatic valve 15 (ECV-He-01) will close. The ECV pneumatic valve 44 (ECV-VNT-01) will automatically open to purge the system. Once the pressure drops below 0.1 MPa, vacuum pump 43 (VPMP-100) will automatically start to evacuate the system. When the vacuum reaches 100 hPa, the vacuum pump will shut off, and ECV pneumatic valve 44 (ECV-VNT-01) will close. ECV pneumatic valve 15 (ECV-He-01) will then automatically open again. Repeat the above steps twice to complete the system flushing.

[0029] In this embodiment, an argon fluoride (ArF) cylinder 21 is connected to the mixed gas supply cylinder connection terminal. The impurity filter 23 (FIL-01) is designed with a filtration efficiency of 0.003 microns, effectively filtering impurities in the mixed gas cylinder. After adjusting the PCV pressure reducing valve 24 (PCV-MIX-01), the pressure is adjusted from 0.6 MPa to 0.8 MPa. The PC interface is activated, featuring an automatic mixed gas supply control button. Clicking the automatic button on the PC interface will automatically open the ECV pneumatic valve 25 (ECV-MIX-01), pressurizing the system. When the pressure sensor 6 (PT-01) reaches 0.7 MPa, the ECV pneumatic valve 25 (ECV-MIX-01) will close. The ECV pneumatic valve 344 (ECV-VNT-01) will automatically open to release pressure. Once the pressure drops below 0.1 MPa, vacuum pump 6 (VPMP-100) will automatically start to evacuate the system. When the vacuum reaches 100 hPa, the vacuum pump will shut off, and ECV pneumatic valve 344 (ECV-VNT-01) will close. ECV pneumatic valve 25 (ECV-MIX-01) will then automatically open again, repeating the above steps twice. This completes the automatic cleaning of the mixed gas supply unit.

[0030] In this embodiment, the output energy of the mixed gas in the laser tube deteriorates during the operation of laser 5 and the time the argon fluoride (ArF) gas mixture resides in the laser tube. Furthermore, the laser gas is contaminated by various trace substances, all of which reduce the fluoride concentration. Therefore, the mixed gas in the laser tube must be replaced periodically. The replacement of the laser mixed gas in laser 5 is performed after system flushing. The PC operating interface is activated, featuring an automatic control button for laser gas replacement. First, ECV pneumatic valve 344 (ECV-VNT-01) automatically opens to release gas from the common system. Once the pressure drops below 0.1 MPa, vacuum pump 6 automatically starts to evacuate the system. When the vacuum reaches 100 hPa, vacuum pump 6 shuts off, and ECV pneumatic valve 344 (ECV-VNT-01) closes. After the system evacuation is complete, laser inlet valve 31 (ECV-LASER-01) opens, and ECV pneumatic valve 344 (ECV-VNT-01) opens to release the argon fluoride mixed gas that needs to be replaced from laser 5. When the pressure drops below 0.1 MPa, vacuum pump 6 (VPMP-100) will automatically start to evacuate the system. Once the vacuum reaches 100 hPa, the vacuum pump will shut off, and ECV pneumatic valve 344 (ECV-VNT-01) will close. The next step is to fill laser 5 with a fresh gas mixture. ECV pneumatic valve 25 (ECV-MIX-01) and laser inlet valve 31 (ECV-LASER-01) will open, filling laser 5 with a fresh argon fluoride mixture. When the required gas pressure reaches 0.7 MPa, laser inlet valve 31 (ECV-LASER-01) will automatically close, and the gas mixture supply valve ECV pneumatic valve 25 (ECV-MIX-01) will automatically close. At this point, the laser tube has completed its gas mixture replacement.

[0031] In this embodiment, the mixed gas is a compound composed of argon and fluorine, which has high reactivity. Therefore, the exhaust purification unit 4 is designed with an argon fluoride gas filter 42 (Filter-01) to fully purify the low-fluorine toxic and harmful gases in the argon fluoride to achieve harmless gas emission into the atmosphere. When the ECV pneumatic valve 44 (ECV-VNT-01) is opened to discharge gas from the system, the gas will be neutralized by the argon fluoride gas filter 42 (Filter-01) before being discharged. At the same time, a one-way valve 45 (CV-VNT-01) is installed at the front end of the filter to prevent the discharged gas from flowing back and contaminating the system.

[0032] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A laser air intake and processing device, characterized in that, It includes a flushing gas supply unit, a laser mixed gas supply unit, a laser inlet control unit, and an exhaust purification unit. The outlet of the flushing gas supply unit and the outlet of the laser mixed gas supply unit are respectively connected to the inlet of the laser through pipes. The laser inlet control unit is installed on the pipe at the laser inlet. The pipe at the inlet of the exhaust purification unit is connected to the pipe at the outlet of the flushing gas supply unit.

2. The laser air intake and processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flushing gas supply unit includes a 5N helium gas cylinder, a first delivery pipeline, a first impurity filter, a first PCV pressure reducing valve, and a first ECV pneumatic valve. The first impurity filter, the first PCV pressure reducing valve, and the first ECV pneumatic valve are sequentially arranged on the first delivery pipeline along the delivery direction, and the 5N helium gas cylinder is located at the inlet of the first delivery pipeline.

3. The laser air intake and processing device according to claim 2, characterized in that, Pressure sensors are respectively installed on the conveying pipeline between the impurity filter and the PCV pressure reducing valve, and on the conveying pipeline between the PCV pressure reducing valve and the ECV pneumatic valve.

4. The laser air intake and processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The laser mixed gas supply unit includes an argon fluoride cylinder, a second delivery pipeline, a second impurity filter, a second PCV pressure reducing valve, and a second ECV pneumatic valve. The second impurity filter, the second PCV pressure reducing valve, and the second ECV pneumatic valve are sequentially arranged on the second delivery pipeline along the delivery direction, and the argon fluoride cylinder is located at the inlet of the second delivery pipeline.

5. The laser air intake and processing device according to claim 4, characterized in that, Pressure sensors are respectively installed on the second conveying pipe between the second impurity filter and the second PCV pressure reducing valve, and on the second conveying pipe between the second PCV pressure reducing valve and the second ECV pneumatic valve.

6. The laser air intake and processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The laser intake control unit includes a laser intake valve, an automatic control button for automatically opening and closing the laser intake valve, and corresponding automatic control modules for controlling the flushing gas supply unit, the laser mixed gas supply unit, and the exhaust purification unit.

7. The laser gas inlet and processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The exhaust purification unit includes a third delivery pipeline, an argon fluoride gas filter, a vacuum pump, a third ECV pneumatic valve, and a check valve. The check valve is located at the front end of the argon fluoride gas filter, the third ECV pneumatic valve is located on the third delivery pipeline, and the vacuum pump is located at the exhaust end of the exhaust purification unit.

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