Numerous photonics applications in research and industry require ultraviolet (UV) laser light. Only a few types of conventional laser systems provide UV light, and those emit at fixed wavelengths. Gas lasers, laser diodes, and solid-state lasers can be manufactured to emit ultraviolet light, and lasers are available which cover the entire UV range. The nitrogen gas laser uses electronic excitation of nitrogen molecules to emit a beam that is mostly UV. The strongest ultraviolet lines are at 337.1 nm and 357.6 nm,wavelength. Another type of high power gas laser is the excimer laser. They are widely used lasers emitting in ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet wavelength ranges.
Excimer lasers have been widely used for many photonics applications, such as polymer laser micromachining, ranging from microelectronics, medical, life sciences, automotive, printing, and other industrial applications. Excimer lasers produce high-energy UV radiation. They are suited for machining polymers, which exhibit good absorption at these wavelengths. These pulsed lasers produce high average UV power from a few to hundreds of watts at relatively low repetition rates, and from tens of pulses per second up to a few thousands of pulses per second. Each pulse duration can range from a few nanoseconds to hundreds of nanoseconds and their pulse energy range from a few millijoules to a few joules. The UV laser beams generated by these excimer lasers are generally incoherent, wide and multimode.
Excimer lasers are available at much higher average power levels than ultrafast lasers, and their initial cost is lower, especially if normalized to their power output. However, they require more maintenance and have typically higher operating cost. Excimer lasers can achieve much higher throughput for high volume manufacturing, especially for high-density patterns. For low-density patterns such as machining a few holes in each part, the choice is often more complex. High repetition rate, low power excimer lasers are now available with low operating costs and can be used economically for these applications.
Optromix Company offers compact and powerful excimer laser with the wavelength range of 193 nm to 308 nm. CL-5000 is equipped with high voltage switch – a high resource cold cathode thyratron. The laser has an average power stabilization system, which makes it easy and convenient to use. Moreover, CL-5000 provides a longer lasting time for gas mixture. The ultraviolet excimer laser is a perfect source for ophthalmic systems. It is also a great solution for various industrial purposes, namely manufacturing diffractive structures in optic fibers, micro marking, processing of certain materials and laser deposition.
