Laser applications in the deep-ultraviolet range from characterization measurements on novel material systems for ultraviolet laser diodes, like gallium/aluminum nitride, to wafer inspection systems in the semiconductor industry. A major scientific application of deep-ultraviolet sources is photoemission spectroscopy which bene-fits from laser sources with high photon energy and thus short wavelength to exceed the work function of the material under study. Only with excimer and nitrogen lasers, wavelengths below 375 nm are reachable by direct laser transitions. For continuous-wave emission, laser sources in the near-infrared or visible spectral range are frequency-converted in nonlinear crystals to generate light in the ultraviolet and deep-ultraviolet spectrum. Thereby, second-harmonic processes from a single fundamental source are favored over mixing processes betweendifferent pump lasers to minimize the cost and complexity of the laser system.

A narrow-band continuous-wave laser source in the deep-ultraviolet with an output power of > 15 mW at 193 nm was reported..Applications of this laser source in semiconductor metrology and high-resolution spectroscopy could be seen in this paper.

OpticsInfoBase, 2014