<title>Low cost of ownership KrF excimer laser using a novel pulse power and chamber configuration</title>

Abstract

A KrF excimer laser using an all solid state Pulse Power Modulator (PPM) has been studied. This PPM configuration replaces the commonly used thyratron switch with a Silicon Controlled Rectifier (5CR) switch combined with a pulse compression-voltage multiplication circuit. Use of this PPM has extended the useful chamber life of a line-narrowed KrF excimer laser from 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion pulses. Broadband KrF laser performance, optimized for mirror based scanner systems, has also been investigated. A minimum broadband chamber life of 5 billion pulses has been demonstrated with this solid state PPM. While a thyratron-based PPM exhibits an expected lifetime of 3 billion pulses, the solid state PPM used in these experiments has been operated for greater than 6 billion pulses without any decrease in performance. Since 72% of the replacement parts cost for the ELS-4000D line-narrowed excimer laser is due to periodic chamber and PPM replacement, significant cost of ownership reduction is realized by extending the lifetime of the chamber and the PPM.

Coaxial magnetic pulse compression system to generate fast‐rising pulsed power

“…A shorter l can be selected with a decrease of the number of cores, which can reduce the circuit inductance, (1). The risetime of the current decreases from (2). For Y, the number of cores is reduced from 4 to 2 cores and the length of conductor can be reduced from 21 to 15 cm.…”

“…Pulsed power generators (PPGs) with a magnetic pulse compression (MPC) system [1] have been widely used in pulsed power applications, such as lasers, harmful gas treatment systems, and biological sterilization [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] systems because these generators have many advantages, such as short pulse, high stability, high-repetitive operation, and long lifetime. Thus, MPC can be used to realize a high-performance of a PPG.…”

Feasibility Studies of EMTP Simulation for the Design of the Pulsed-Power Generator Using MPC and BPFN for Water Treatments

“…Recent developments of ferromagnetic materials [3], [4] and semiconductor switches with excellent characteristics have allowed the high repetitive operation of magnetic switches (MS) with very low loss and have made it possible to use the repetitive pulsed power generated by MPC on practical industrial applications such as laser exciters, decomposition of harmful gases, removal of volatile toxic compounds, and water treatments [5]- [8] due to its high repetition rate, high stability, and long lifetime.…”

Timing compensation for an excimer laser solid-state pulsed power module (SSPPM)

“…In normal operation, the operating voltage of the solid state pulse power module (SSPPM) [1], [2] can range from 600 to 1150 V because the energy required by the laser chamber will vary as the electrodes wear, the gas becomes depleted/contaminated, and so on. This complicates the timing requirement because the magnetic switches saturate at earlier times at the higher operating voltages.…”