Detailed optical characterization of a near diffraction limited xenon fluoride laser

Author

Londono, C. ; Smith, M.J. ; Trainor, D.W. ; Berggren, R. ; Fulghum, S.F. ; Itzkan, I.

Author_Institution

AVCO Res. Lab. Inc., Everett, MA, USA

Volume

24

Issue

12

fYear

1988

fDate

12/1/1988 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2467

Lastpage

2476

Abstract

A 1 m gain length, electron-beam-pumped xenon fluoride laser (λ=353, 351 nm) utilizing two laser mixtures of lean and rich NF ₃, with Xe and balance Ne, which was operated with a confocal unstable resonator with magnification of 2.24, is discussed. The resultant beam quality was diagnosed with both shearing interferometry to measure near-field phase, and far-field focal-spot evaluation techniques. These measurements resulted in a beam quality of <1.15 times the diffraction limit with no evidence of the wide angle energy loss. The laser was fully characterized with regard to electron-beam deposition uniformity, transient refractive index effects, and optical quality of the resonator and diagnostic components

Keywords

electron beams; excimer lasers; laser beams; laser transitions; light diffraction; xenon compounds; 351 nm; 353 nm; NF₃; XeF; diffraction limit; electron-beam deposition; far-field focal-spot evaluation; magnification; near-field phase; optical quality; refractive index effects; resonator; shearing interferometry; unstable resonator; Laser beams; Noise measurement; Optical diffraction; Optical interferometry; Optical refraction; Optical resonators; Optical variables control; Phase measurement; Shearing; Xenon;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.14378

Filename

14378