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Excimer lasers are gas lasers where the active medium is a combination of a halide gas (e.g., hydrogen chloride or fluorine) and a rare gas like argon, krypton or xenon; in the excited state these form a metastable compound called “excited dimer”. The resulting laser light has an ultraviolet wavelength of 0.15–0.35 um; the beam is transferred to the point of use through mirrors and lenses or an optical fiber, making it very flexible.
Halide/rare gas compounds, typically in a mixture with helium or neon as a buffer gas, produce intense light pulses. Excimer lasers are available at power levels up to 300 W, and they are used mostly in the fields of:
- Micromachining (drilling, etching, ablation, cutting)
- Medical applications (eye surgery, angioplasty, plastic surgery)
- Semiconductor production (wafers, flat panel displays)
The corrosive and toxic nature of halogens sets stringent limitations on moisture content and requires sophisticated gas supply equipment: specific stainless steel regulators and panels, orbital welded stainless steel piping, gas cabinets with exhaust lines, halogen scrubber filters and gas detection systems with alarms. |
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