Method and system for providing an excimer or molecular fluorine laser
including a laser tube filled with a laser gas surrounded by an optical
resonator, where the laser tube has multiple electrodes including a pair
of main discharge electrodes connected to a discharge circuit for exciting
the laser gas to produce a laser output beam. The discharge circuit has an
all solid state switch and preferably does not include a transformer. The
solid state switch includes multiple solid state devices that may be
capable of switching voltages in excess of 12 kV, such as 14-32 kV or
more, or the voltage needed to switch the laser. The series of switches
has a rise time of approximately less than 300 ns, and preferably around
100 ns or less. The switch may be capable of switching voltages of
slightly more than half, but less than the entire voltage needed to
produce laser pulses of desired energies, and a voltage doubling circuit
may be used to produce the voltage required to produce the desired output
pulse energies. An oscillator-amplifier configuration may be used, wherein
an oscillator switch may be capable of switching voltages less than the
entire voltage needed to produce the desired laser pulse energies, while
the amplifier amplifies the pulses to the desired pulse energies.
