Abstract

For applications in micromachining, uv laser systems are required with high-amplitude stability and good beam quality. At present, excimer lasers are the most frequently used laser systems for these purposes. But the poor beam quality and low repetition rates of these lasers restrict their field of application. Frequency-converted cw-pumped solid-state lasers are able to produce nearly diffraction-limited radiation at high repetition rates. But the use of these laser systems is often restricted because of high-power fluctuations of the frequency-converted output.

© 1996 Optical Society of America