History and future prospects of excimer laser technology

We give a review about the historical development and various technological achievements in the field of excimer lasers since their discovery in 1970. The first commercial excimer laser model in the world, the EMG 500 from Lambda Physik was operating at maximum repetition rates of only 20Hz, whereas today multi kiloHz excimer lasers as the NovaLine lasers are available. In 2000 Lambda Physik introduced the most powerful commercial excimer laser, the Lambda Steel with 300W output power having extremely high stability. Over the years various technological achievements like the magnetic switch control, the NovaTube laser chamber technology, the NovaPowerSwitch solid-state pulsed power modules and the HaloSafe fluorine and chlorine generators could be realized which make the use of excimer lasers simple and user friendly. Recently, the development of Lambda Physik’s DuraTube technology gave a strong push towards the development of high power 157 nm laser technology for microlithography and laser based micro-machining of “difficult” materials as fused silica or teflon. Current and future technological developments are discussed which will strengthen the position of excimer lasers in all industrial areas.