Abstract

The operation of a XeCl excimer laser with over 150 W of average output power at a pulse rate of 500 Hz is described. Corona preionization and magnetic switching are used for reliability and simplicity. Brief operation at an average power of over 200 W and over 600 Hz has also been obtained. The physical and performance characteristics of the laser system, primarily during XeCl operation but including results obtained with KrF, are described. Replacing the Thyratron used to pulse charge the magnetically switched pulse-forming network (PFN) with a single commercially available silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) and saturable magnetics resulted in an all-solid-state-driven laser (no Thyratrons, rail gaps, x rays, or spark arrays), which generated over 40 W of average output power at a pulse rate of 250 Hz.

© 1984 Optical Society of America