Laser apparatus, extreme ultraviolet light generation system, method for controlling the laser apparatus, and method for generating the extreme ultraviolet light

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9570884-B2
Application number	US-201213817817-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 25, 2012
Priority date	Feb 9, 2011
Publication date	Feb 14, 2017
Grant date	Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

A laser apparatus may include: a master oscillator configured to output a pulsed laser beam at a repetition rate, the master oscillator including at least one semiconductor laser apparatus; at least one amplifier configured to amplify the pulsed laser beam from the master oscillator, the at least one amplifier being configured to include at least one gain bandwidth; and a controller for controlling a parameter affecting an output wavelength of the pulsed laser beam from the master oscillator such that a wavelength chirping range of the pulsed laser beam from the master oscillator overlaps at least a part of the at least one gain bandwidth.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laser apparatus, comprising:
a master oscillator configured to output a pulsed laser beam at a repetition rate, each pulse of the pulsed laser beam being chirped, the master oscillator including a plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses;
at least one amplifier configured to amplify the pulsed laser beam from the master oscillator, the at least one amplifier being configured to include a plurality of gain bandwidths; and
a controller for controlling a temperature of each of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses, as a parameter affecting an output wavelength of the pulsed laser beam such that a wavelength chirping range of the pulsed laser beam overlaps at least a part of at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths, wherein:
at least two of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses output pulsed laser beams having wavelength chirping ranges different from each other,

the controller controls such that the temperature of each of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses is placed between a first temperature at which a temporally initial wavelength in a single pulse of the pulsed laser beam becomes a longest wavelength of the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths and a second temperature at which a temporally final wavelength in a single pulse of the pulsed laser beam becomes a shortest wavelength of the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths; and
the wavelength chirping range of each pulse of the pulsed laser beam has the temporally initial wavelength, the temporally final wavelength, and a plurality of wavelengths extending from the temporally initial wavelength to the temporally final wavelength, with at least one of the temporally initial wavelength and the temporally final wavelength being outside the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths, and at least one of the plurality of wavelengths being inside the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths.

2. The laser apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the temporally initial wavelength is inside the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths.

3. The laser apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein both the temporally initial wavelength and the temporally final wavelength are outside the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths.

4. The laser apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein a portion toward an end of the plurality of wavelengths extending from the temporally initial wavelength to the temporally final wavelength overlaps the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths.

5. The laser apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the controller inputs oscillation triggers to the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses such that pulsed laser beams outputted from the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses, respectively, are outputted from the at least one amplifier at approximately a same timing.

6. The laser apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein each of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses is configured to oscillate at a single-longitudinal mode.

7. The laser apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein at least two of the plurality of the semiconductor laser apparatuses are configured to oscillate at the same wavelength.

8. The laser apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising a plurality of amplifiers for amplifying the pulsed laser beam.

9. The laser apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising a regenerative amplifier for amplifying the pulsed laser beam.

10. The laser apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising a current controller for supplying a current to the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses,
wherein the controller is configured to control a timing at which the current controller supplies a current to each of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses, based on a duration from an input of a current to each of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses until an arrival of the pulsed laser beam at a predetermined position.

11. The laser apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising:
a current controller for supplying a current to the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses; and
a memory,
wherein the controller is configured to control a timing at which the current controller supplies a current to each of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses, based on a data stored in the memory, the data being a duration from a input of a current to each of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses until an arrival of the pulsed laser beam at a predetermined position.

12. The laser apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the predetermined position is located downstream from the at least one amplifier,
a monitor unit is provided at the predetermined position, the monitor unit being configured to detect the pulsed laser beam, and
the arrival of the pulsed laser beam at the predetermined position is determined based on a detection result of the pulsed laser beam by the monitor unit.

13. The laser apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the predetermined position is located downstream from the at least one amplifier,
a monitor unit is disposed at the predetermined position, the monitor unit being configured to detect the pulsed laser beam, and the arrival of the pulsed laser beam at the predetermined position is determined based on a detection result of the pulsed laser beam by the monitor unit.

14. An extreme ultraviolet light generation system, comprising:
a laser apparatus including
a master oscillator configured to output a pulsed laser beam at a repetition rate, each pulse of the pulsed laser beam being chirped, the master oscillator including a plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses,
at least one amplifier configured to amplify the pulsed laser beam from the master oscillator, the at least one amplifier being configured to include a plurality of gain bandwidths, and
a controller for controlling a temperature of each of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses, as a parameter affecting an output wavelength of the pulsed laser beam such that a wavelength chirping range of the pulsed laser beam overlaps at least a part of at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths, wherein
at least two of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses output pulsed laser beams having wavelength chirping ranges different from each other,
the controller controls such that the temperature of each of the plurality of semiconductor laser apparatuses is placed between a first temperature at which a temporally initial wavelength in a single pulse of the pulsed laser beam becomes a longest wavelength of the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths and a second temperature at which a temporally final wavelength in a single pulse of the pulsed laser beam becomes a shortest wavelength of the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths, and
the wavelength chirping range of each pulse of the pulsed laser beam has the temporally initial wavelength, the temporally final wavelength, and a plurality of wavelengths extending from the temporally initial wavelength to the temporally final wavelength, with at least one of the temporally initial wavelength and the temporally final wavelength being outside the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths, and at least one of the plurality of wavelengths being inside the at least one of the plurality of gain bandwidths;

a chamber;
a target supply unit configured to supply a target material toward a predetermined region inside the chamber; and
a collector mirror for selectively reflecting at least extreme ultraviolet lig

Assignees

• Nowak Krzysztof
• Wakabayashi Osamu
• Gigaphoton Inc

Inventors

• Nowak Krzysztof
• Wakabayashi Osamu

Classifications

• H05G2/0084

  Control of the laser beam · CPC title

• H05G2/0027

  Arrangements for controlling the supply; Arrangements for measurements · CPC title

• H01S5/3402

  intersubband lasers, e.g. transitions within the conduction or valence bands · CPC title

• B82Y20/00 Primary

  Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals · CPC title

• H05G2/003

  the plasma being generated from a material in a liquid or gas state · CPC title