25 results about "Gas laser device" patented technology

A laser chamber according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a container, a first electrode, a second electrode, and a sound absorber. The container is filled with a laser gas. The first electrode is disposed in the container. The second electrode is disposed in the container and faces the first electrode. The sound absorber is disposed on at least one of an upstream side and a downstream side of the laser gas from the first electrode. The sound absorber is configured to cause a propagation speed of an acoustic wave generated in a discharge space between the first electrode and the second electrode to decrease as a distance from the discharge space increases.

A gas laser apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a laser chamber, a primary electrode, a preliminary ionization electrode, a power supplier, and a processor. The laser chamber is configured to encapsulate a laser gas containing a fluorine gas. The primary electrode is disposed in the laser chamber. The preliminary ionization electrode is disposed in the laser chamber. The power supplier is configured to supply power to the primary electrode and the preliminary ionization electrode. The processor is configured to control the power supplier to perform first discharge control that causes the preliminary ionization electrode and the primary electrode to perform discharge, and second discharge control that causes only the preliminary ionization electrode to perform discharge without causing the primary electrode to perform discharge.

The invention provides a laser chamber, a gas laser apparatus, and a manufacturing method of an electronic device. A laser chamber according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a laser chamber of a gas laser device that outputs laser light, the laser chamber being provided with: a container filled with a laser gas; a first electrode extending in a first direction and disposed inside the container; a second electrode extending in the first direction and disposed at a position closer to the inner wall of the container than the first electrode in a state of facing the first electrode in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a fan that causes the laser gas to flow in a discharge space between the first electrode and the second electrode; a plurality of heat pipes disposed on the inner wall of the container; and a plurality of heat exchangers disposed in the container so as to be separated from each other.

The present disclosure provides a laser chamber, a gas laser device, and a method of manufacturing an electronic device. A laser chamber of one aspect of the present disclosure includes a container filled with a laser gas; a first electrode disposed in the container; a second electrode disposed in the container in an opposed state to the first electrode; and an acoustic absorption material disposed on at least one of an upstream side and a downstream side of the laser gas with respect to the first electrode, so that a propagation speed of a sound wave generated in a discharge space between the first electrode and the second electrode is reduced in a direction away from the discharge space.

A laser chamber of a discharge-excitation-type gas laser device includes first and second discharge electrodes, a fan arranged in the laser chamber and causing a laser gas in the laser chamber to circulate, and a cooling unit arranged in the laser chamber and cooling the laser gas. Here, at least a part of a gas guide surface out of an inner surface of the laser chamber extends between first and second virtual curves over a first section corresponding to a phase angle of a magnitude of 90° or more of first and second virtual logarithmic spirals. The inner surface defines a flow path of the laser gas through which the laser gas flows between the first and second discharge electrodes to a vicinity of the cooling unit. The first and second virtual curves each have a curvature decreasing along the flow direction.

A laser chamber includes a guide portion arranged therein such that at least a part of a first guide surface extends between first and second virtual curves over a first section of first and second virtual logarithmic spirals. The first virtual curve has a curvature decreasing along a flow direction and is a virtual curve from a first phase angle to a second phase angle of the first virtual logarithmic spiral in which an angle at which a straight line from an origin and a tangent of the first virtual curve intersect is 103°. The second virtual curve has a curvature decreasing along the flow direction and is a virtual curve from the first phase angle to the second phase angle of the second virtual logarithmic spiral in which an angle at which a straight line from the origin and a tangent of the second virtual curve intersect is 96°.

A gas laser device has a laser oscillator including a pair of discharge electrodes disposed opposite each other and generating light with a laser gas by applying a voltage, and a laser side resonator that resonates the light, an amplifier including an amplifying section and an amplifying side resonator, a beam splitter that reflects a part of the light from the laser side resonator, a light sensor that detects the light reflected by the beam splitter, and a processor that controls the voltage based on an output of the light sensor. The amplifying side resonator includes a back mirror and an amplifying side output coupling mirror, and the laser side resonator includes a grating and a laser side output coupling mirror. In a case where the voltage is lower than a threshold value of the voltage, the processor maintains the voltage at a fixed value above the threshold value.

This baking method for a chamber of a gas laser apparatus is applied to a gas laser apparatus having a chamber that has an interior space in which a beam is generated, the gas laser apparatus being provided with, on the outside of a sidewall in contact with the interior space of the chamber, a cooling passage configured so as to allow a flow of a cooling medium for cooling the chamber, the baking method comprising: a heating step of, prior to generating the beam in the interior space, letting a heating medium flow in the cooling passage so as to heat the interior space through the sidewall; and a discharge step of discharging gas in the heated interior space to an exterior space of the chamber.

This gas laser apparatus comprises: a chamber device that comprises an electrode in the inside thereof in which laser gas is sealed, and that outputs, to the outside via a window, light which is produced from the laser gas by application of a voltage to the electrode; a mirror that is disposed outside of the chamber device and that reflects at least some of the light emitted via the window; a holding part that holds the mirror; a support member that supports the holding part in a moveable manner along a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the light emitted via the window; a movement mechanism that moves the holding part with respect to the support member, along the plane; and an angle maintaining mechanism that maintains, at a prescribed angle, the angle of inclination of the holding part with respect to the support member.

A chamber device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is provided with: a metal case in which an opening for accommodating a laser gas and a discharge electrode therein is formed, the end of the opening having a stepped shape over the entire circumference; a ceramic electrically insulating plate having a planar shape surrounded by two sets of opposing linear edges and four corners, and having a stepped end portion fitted over the entire circumference with the end portion of the opening so as to cover the opening; a pressing member that presses the two sets of opposing linear edges toward the open end in a state in which the four corners are open; a groove formed in a receiving surface so as to surround the opening, the receiving surface receiving an end portion of the electrically insulating plate at an end portion of the opening; and an O-ring disposed in the groove. In at least one of the four corners, a surface of the end portion of the electrically insulating plate facing the receiving surface includes a contact surface and a separation surface, the contact surface is in contact with the receiving surface and covers the groove, and the separation surface is separated from the receiving surface at a position closer to the outer peripheral side than the contact surface.

A narrow-band gas laser device has an actuator that changes a center wavelength of pulsed laser light, and a processor that controls the actuator, the processor reading in parameters including a number of irradiation pulses of the pulsed laser light that is irradiated to one site of an irradiation target, a shortest wavelength, and a longest wavelength, setting a first mode in which the center wavelength is changed in a manner that approaches from the shortest wavelength to the longest wavelength, and a second mode in which the center wavelength is changed in a manner that approaches from the longest wavelength to the shortest wavelength, in a manner that at least one of the first mode and the second mode is different between a case where the number of irradiation pulses is even and a case where the number of irradiation pulses is odd, and controls the actuator in a manner that the first mode and the second mode are alternately performed.

A discharge excitation gas laser device is provided that has improved laser gas flow and improved energy efficiency. [Solution] The laser chamber of the discharge-excited gas laser device has a guide section arranged within the laser chamber so that a portion of the first guide surface extending from the front end of the guide surface at the upstream end in a first direction to the rear end of the guide surface at the downstream end in the direction opposite to the first direction extends over a first section corresponding to a phase angle of 90° or more of the first and second virtual logarithmic spirals, between a first virtual curve whose curvature decreases along the flow direction, from a first phase angle to a second phase angle of the first virtual logarithmic spiral, and the angle at which a straight line from the origin and a tangent to the first virtual curve intersect is 103°, and a second virtual curve whose curvature decreases along the flow direction, from a first phase angle to a second phase angle of the second virtual logarithmic spiral, and the angle at which a straight line from the origin and a tangent to the second virtual curve intersects is 96°.

To provide a laser chamber which enhances the cooling capacity of laser gas without increasing the pressure loss of the laser gas.SOLUTION: The laser chamber 10 includes a vessel 10a filled with a laser gas, a first electrode 20a extending in a first direction and disposed in the vessel, a second electrode 20b extending in the first direction and disposed at a position closer to an inside wall of the vessel than the first electrode while facing the first electrode in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, a fan 23 configured to cause the laser gas to flow through a discharge space between the first and second electrodes, a plurality of heat pipes 40 disposed on the inside wall of the vessel, and a plurality of heat exchangers 50 disposed apart from each other in the vessel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

A gas laser device includes a chamber device including a pair of electrodes at an internal space thereof to be filled with a laser gas and configured to output, through a window to an outside thereof, light generated from the laser gas when a voltage is applied to the electrodes; a shutter arranged outside the chamber device and configured to be capable of shielding the light; a movement mechanism capable of moving the shutter onto an optical path of the light and a first retraction position outside the optical path of the light; and a coupling portion capable of coupling an optical component capable of receiving the light to the shutter. Here, the optical component is positioned on the optical path in a state in which the shutter is positioned at the first retraction position when the coupling portion is coupled to the optical component.

The discharge electrode of the gas laser device used to excite a fluorine-containing laser gas by discharge has a cathode (11a) and an anode (11b). The anode (11b) is disposed opposite the cathode (11a) in the discharge direction perpendicular to the length direction of the cathode (11a). The anode (11b) includes an electrode substrate (111) containing metal and a coating (112) covering a portion of the surface of the electrode substrate (111) and containing an insulating material. The first corner (C1) of the anode in the cross section perpendicular to the length direction is closer to the cathode in the discharge direction than the second corner (C2) in the cross section. The first corner (C1) is connected to the first straight section (S1) formed by the first side surface (SS1) which is the side surface of the electrode substrate (111) and the first curved section (D1) formed by the first discharge surface (DS1) which is the discharge surface of the electrode substrate (111). The second corner (C2) is connected to the second straight section (S2) formed by the second side surface (SS2) which is the side surface of the coating (112) and the second curved section (D2) formed by the second discharge surface (DS2) which is the discharge surface of the coating (112).

A laser chamber of a gas laser device configured to output laser light includes a container filled with a laser gas, a first electrode extending in a first direction and arranged in the container, a second electrode arranged at a position closer to an inner wall of the container than the first electrode while extending in the first direction and facing the first electrode in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a fan configured to cause the laser gas to flow through a discharge space between the first electrode and the second electrode, a plurality of heat pipes arranged on the inner wall of the container, and a plurality of heat exchangers arranged as being spaced apart from each other in the container.

The gas laser device amplifies laser light output from a laser oscillator by means of an amplifier and emits the amplified laser light, the amplifier being provided with: a chamber device that amplifies the laser light; a resonator that resonates the laser light between both sides of the chamber device; a polarizing plate that reduces linearly polarized light having a polarization direction different from that of the first linearly polarized light from the laser light; and a beam expander, the resonator including an output coupling mirror, the beam expander including: a convex mirror including a reflecting surface on which the laser beam emitted from the chamber device is incident such that a first linearly polarized light in the laser beam becomes an S-polarized light, the reflecting surface reflecting the laser beam such that a beam width of the laser beam is enlarged; and a concave mirror including a reflecting surface on which the laser light reflected by the convex mirror is incident such that first linearly polarized light in the laser light becomes S polarized light, the reflecting surface reflecting the laser light toward the output coupling mirror so as to collimate the expanded beam width of the laser light.

In this gas laser apparatus chamber, the distance to a first end from a virtual axis, which extends between a first main electrode and a second main electrode along a predetermined direction, increases from the one side to the other side in the predetermined direction, and the distance from the virtual axis to a second end decreases from the one side to the other side in the predetermined direction.

A gas laser device includes a laser oscillator outputting laser light, and a laser amplifier amplifying the laser light and outputting the amplified laser light. The laser amplifier includes a discharge chamber accommodating electrodes for causing discharge, an input coupling optical system causing part of the laser light to be transmitted toward the discharge chamber, and an output coupling optical system configuring an optical resonator together with the input coupling optical system and causing part of the laser light transmitted through the input coupling optical system and the discharge chamber to be transmitted therethrough and output the amplified laser light. A first focal point of the input coupling optical system and a second focal point of the output coupling optical system in a first direction being perpendicular to a direction of the discharge coincides at a position between the input coupling optical system and the output coupling optical system.

The invention provides a laser cavity, a discharge excitation type gas laser device and a manufacturing method of an electronic device. A laser chamber of a discharge excitation type gas laser device is provided with a guide part disposed in the laser chamber so as to extend from a guide surface front end, which is an upstream end in a first direction, to at least a part of a first guide surface, which is a guide surface rear end, which is an end in the direction opposite to the first direction, on a downstream side. Between a first imaginary curve from a first phase angle to a second phase angle of the first imaginary logarithmic spiral line and a second imaginary curve from the first phase angle to the second phase angle of the second imaginary logarithmic spiral line, a first interval range corresponding to a phase angle of 90 DEG or more of the first and second imaginary logarithmic spiral lines is extended. The curvature of the first imaginary curve decreases in the flow direction, the intersection angle between the straight line passing through the origin and the tangent line of the first imaginary curve is 103 degrees, the curvature of the second imaginary curve decreases in the flow direction, and the intersection angle between the straight line passing through the origin and the tangent line of the second imaginary curve is 96 degrees.

This invention provides a method for manufacturing a gas laser device and electronic components. The gas laser device includes: a cavity device that emits pulsed laser light; and a pulse stretcher comprising multiple annular optical paths for extending the pulse width of the pulsed laser light, the annular optical paths comprising: a beam splitter to which the pulsed laser light is incident; and multiple surrounding mirrors that sequentially reflect portions of the pulsed laser light incident on the beam splitter and return it to the beam splitter in a manner that overlaps with another portion of the pulsed laser light. The pulse stretcher includes a unit that can separate and detach two or more beam splitters from one or more surrounding mirrors.

A laser device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a power supply; a main capacitor; a solid-state switch; a step-up transformer; a first magnetic pulse compression circuit that has a first transfer capacitor and a first magnetic switch and that is connected to a secondary side of the step-up transformer; a second magnetic pulse compression circuit that has a second transfer capacitor and a second magnetic switch and that is connected downstream of the first magnetic pulse compression circuit; a peaking capacitor that is connected downstream of the second magnetic pulse compression circuit; a pair of discharge electrodes formed of a cathode electrode and an anode electrode; a regenerative transformer that transfers, to the main capacitor, electric charge generated by the pair of discharge electrodes after a main discharge; and a reset circuit that resets the first magnetic switch and the second magnetic switch. A potential (Ec) of the cathode electrode in a period from 0.5 μs to 20 μs after the main discharge starts is in a range from -200V to 200V.

The invention provides a laser chamber, a discharge excitation type gas laser apparatus, and a manufacturing method of an electronic device. The invention discloses a discharge excitation type gas laser device. First imaginary curve in which at least a portion of a gas guide surface from a first position on the upstream side in the flow direction of laser gas to a second position on the downstream side in the inner surface of a laser chamber defining the flow path of laser gas decreases in the flow direction and second imaginary curve in which the curvature decreases in the flow direction The second logarithmic spiral extends across a first section corresponding to a phase angle of 90 DEG or more between the first and second imaginary logarithmic spirals. The first imaginary curve is a portion from a first phase angle to a second phase angle of a first imaginary logarithmic spiral in which an angle at which a straight line from a first origin intersects with a tangent to the first imaginary curve is 103 DEG. The second imaginary curve is a portion from the first phase angle to the second phase angle of a second imaginary logarithmic spiral in which an angle at which a straight line from the first origin intersects with a tangent to the second imaginary curve is 96 DEG.

A gas laser device amplifies, using an amplifier, laser light output from a laser oscillator. The amplifier includes a chamber device, a resonator including an output coupling mirror and causing the laser light to resonate, a polarizer reducing linear polarization whose polarization direction is different from a polarization direction of a first linear polarization, and a beam expander. The beam expander includes a convex mirror including a reflection surface on which the laser light output from the chamber device is incident and which reflects the laser light so that a beam width of the laser light is expanded, and a concave mirror including a reflection surface on which the laser light reflected by the convex mirror is incident and which reflects the laser light toward the output coupling mirror so as to collimate the laser light so that the expanded beam width of the laser light becomes constant.

A gas laser device includes a cavity device that emits light generated from a laser gas, a resonator that resonates the light emitted from the cavity device between both sides across the cavity device, and a beam expander, the resonator including an output coupling mirror that is disposed on one side across the cavity device and that transmits a portion of the light emitted from the cavity device, the output coupling mirror being disposed on the other side across the cavity device. And an output coupling mirror that reflects another part of the light emitted from the cavity device so as to return to the cavity device, the beam expander being disposed between the cavity device and the output coupling mirror, the beam expander including: a holding portion; a convex mirror that includes a reflecting surface that reflects light emitted from the cavity device so as to enlarge the beam width of the light, and a plurality of side surfaces that are fixed to the holding part by an adhesive on only one side surface; and a concave mirror including a reflecting surface and a plurality of side surfaces, the reflecting surface reflecting the light reflected by the convex mirror toward the output coupling mirror in a collimation manner, the collimation fixing the expanded beam width of the light, and only one side surface being fixed to the holding part by an adhesive.