EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY OF EXCIMER FORMATION KINETICS IN A DISCHARGE-PUMPED KRF EXCIMER-LASER

In order to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the excimer formation kinetics in a discharge-pumped KrF laser, the time-resolved densities of Kr* atoms, an F- ion and an electron in the discharge plasma have been measured by means of an interferometric method and an absorption method. On the basis of these experimental data, the formed density of the KrF* excimer is calculated. It is experimentally elucidated that in a He buffer a degree of contribution of the neutral and ion channels for the excimer formation is almost equal, and in a Ne buffer that of the ion channel is an order of magnitude larger than that of the neutral channel.