Gas discharge laser electrode with reduced sensitivity to adverse boundary layer effects

摘要

A long life laser chamber for a halogen containing gas discharge laser. In a preferred embodiment electrode erosion caused by excited fluorine (i.e., atomic fluorine and fluorine ions) is reduced by forcing the excited fluorine away from the discharge footprint of the electrodes. Preferred embodiments include electrodes with a large number of small holes in the discharge footprint through which laser gas flows to remove the excited fluorine from the footprint region in the time period between electric discharges.