Production excimer laser equipment overview

摘要

Abstract: lasers were commercialized in the late 1970's. The laser community thought that by the early 1980's these UV lasers would enjoy a fruitful industrial market position. CO$-2$/ and solid state lasers required almost two decades to be fully accepted as industrial machine while the excimer laser was expected to be a fast learner benefiting from the learning curve of its big brothers. In retrospect, early excimer lasers had a bad reputation for being complicated, expensive and frequently out of commission. By the late 1980's a few excimer laser manufacturers had engineered the problems to acceptable levels for successful pilot lines and small scale manufacturing to begin. At this time, the real industrial learning curves began as engineers worked to refine many subsystems and support technologies. Today, excimer lasers are being used as true industrial lasers. They have a bright future with numerous and diverse market opportunities. This paper is an overview of the technologies proven to be successful in adapting modern excimer lasers to successful full production situations.!0