Background

In 1993 ATL Lasertechnik recognized that expanding the range of applications for coherent UV radiation in science, medicine and industry required a new generation of excimer lasers to fill the gap between large, conventional UV laser sources such as excimer lasers (moderate rep rates, hundreds of millijoules) and RFI-excited UV sources (high rep rates, micro-joules).

This technology is particularly apparent in applications requiring deep UV (248 nm, 193 nm, and 157 nm) beyond the current range of diode-pumped solid state sources. This gap has now been filled by the ATLEX range of powerful air-cooled excimer lasers, based on metal-ceramic technology. The unique ATLEX laser design results in a rectangular beam of unsurpassed homogeneity, as shown in the profile, unlike competing small lasers having a more Gaussian beam profile. Gaussian profiles are often described as excellent but are not ideally suited for materials processing or medical applications.