JPH04133373A - Gas laser device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decrease the number of exchange of main electrodes, and to reduce running cost by improvement in operating efficiency by forming discharge gap surfaces of at least two surfaces to the main electrode and providing a means moving the main electrode. CONSTITUTION:Two main electrodes 1 are shifted vertically and turned, and a discharge gap is formed by gap surfaces at either one position of discharge gap surfaces 11a-14a and either one position of 11b-14b. A gas laser device is operated under the state. When the number of oscillation shots reaches approximately ten million shots-ten billion shots, the discharge gap surfaces are consumed, a laser output is lowered, the size of laser beams is changed, and the uniformity of laser beams is deteriorated. The main electrodes 1 are shifted again, and a discharge gap is shaped either of the discharge gap surfaces not used. Accordingly, the main electrodes 1 are moved and used successively until the gap surfaces are removed in the gap surfaces not consumed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a gas laser device such as an excimer laser or a carbon dioxide laser, and more specifically, to a gas laser device equipped with a main electrode that discharges in a laser gas. be.

[Prior Art] FIG. 2 shows a conventional excimer laser device disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-117076.
1) is a pair of main electrodes, (2) is an insulator, (13) is a laser housing, (14) is a gas circulator, (15) is a heat exchanger,
(16) is a switching element, and (17) is a capacitor.

Next, the operation will be explained. In a laser gas consisting of a mixed gas of an inert gas and a halogen gas, a high voltage pulse is applied between a pair of opposing main electrodes (1) to generate a discharge. This discharge excites the laser gas, and the laser oscillates in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventional gas laser devices as described above utilize electric discharge in a gas containing laser gas, and therefore may react with the laser gas, generate heat due to electric discharge, or generate heat due to ions during electric discharge. Due to ion bombardment, etc., the discharge gap surface of the main electrode (1) is significantly worn down and the shape of the main electrode changes.On the other hand, in order to obtain a uniform laser beam with a specified output, it is necessary to A deformed discharge is essential, and if the main electrode is deformed, the necessary laser light cannot be obtained.

Furthermore, once the main electrode (1) is worn out, the device must be dismantled and the main electrode (1) replaced, which poses the problem of requiring a great deal of time and effort.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the object is to obtain a gas laser device that can reduce the number of times the main electrode is replaced and reduce running costs by improving the operating rate. .

[Means for Solving the Problems] A gas laser device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a main electrode having at least two discharge gap surfaces, and a means for moving the main electrode.

Further, the gas laser device according to the second invention includes a main electrode provided with a movable contact on the back side of the discharge gap surface.

[Function] In the first aspect of the present invention, the main electrode has at least two discharge gap surfaces, and the main electrode can be operated and moved from outside the casing to connect to the current introduction terminal. Even after the main electrode wears out, continuous use is possible by replacing the discharge gap surface without disassembling the device.

Furthermore, in the second aspect of the invention, the discharge gap surface can be replaced and a predetermined electrical connection can be simultaneously achieved by an operation from outside the casing.

[Example] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

In the figure, a pair of main electrodes (1) are each (lla)
It has a plurality of discharge gap surfaces of ~ (14a), (11b) ~ (14b). (2) is an insulator, (3), (
4) is a current introduction terminal that supplies current to the main electrode, 5) is a rotating shaft that rotates the main electrode, and (6) is a movable contact that is the connection between the main electrode (1) and the current introduction terminal (3). be. The figure shows the case where two main electrodes each wait for four discharge gap surfaces. In addition, movable contacts (6
), the main electrode side is the discharge gear, and the current introduction terminal (
3) 6 With the above configuration, the main electrode (1) can rotate around the rotation axis (5), and the rotation axis (5) and the main electrode (1
) can also be moved up and down. This movement can be driven from outside the laser housing. Therefore, the discharge gap (
Ila) to (14m) and (Ilb) to (14b) can be arbitrarily selected to form a discharge gap. During this rotation and vertical movement, the main electrode (1) and current introduction terminal (3) can be easily separated at the movable contact (6), and are connected with sufficiently small contact resistance during operation.

Next, the operation will be explained. The two main electrodes (1) are moved up and down and rotated to form discharge gap surfaces (lla) to (14).
A discharge gap is formed between one of a) and one of (11b) to (14b).
Next, when the number of oscillation shots in which the gas laser device is operated in this state reaches about 10 million to 10 billion shots, the discharge gap surface is worn out, resulting in a decrease in laser output, a change in the size of the laser beam, and a change in the laser beam size. A decrease in uniformity occurs.

Then, the main electrode (1) is moved again, and a discharge gap is formed using any of the discharge gap surfaces that have not yet been used.

In this way, the main electrodes (1) are sequentially moved and used until there is no discharge gap surface that is not consumed.6 In Figure 1, the discharge gap surface is divided into two main electrodes (1).
), and the movable contact (6) has four sides on each side, and the main power f! Although we have shown an example in which the side electrodes are connected at the discharge gap surface, the pole gap surfaces may be any number of two or more surfaces, and the movable contact may have its own connection member separate from the discharge gap surface on the main electrode. It's okay.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the main electrode is provided with a plurality of discharge gap surfaces so that the main electrode can be moved, thereby reducing the number of replacements of the main electrode. This has the effect of improving the operating rate of the device and reducing running costs.

Further, according to the second invention, there is an effect that the electrical connection of the main electrode is achieved at the same time as the discharge gap surface is replaced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention, and the second section is a sectional view of a conventional gas laser device. (1) ・Main electrode, (2) ・Insulator, (3) ・(
4) Current introduction terminal, (5)... Rotating shaft, (6)... Movable contact, (lla) ~ (14a), (11b) ~ (
14b)...Discharge gap surface 6 In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a gas laser device equipped with at least one pair of main electrodes that discharge in a laser gas, at least two
A gas laser device comprising: the main electrode provided with a discharge gap surface; and means for moving the main electrode to replace the discharge gap surface. (2) The gas laser device according to claim (1), further comprising a main electrode having a movable contact on the back surface of the discharge gap surface that can be connected to and removed from the current introduction terminal by operating from outside the housing.