Transversely Excited Micro-UV Laser

In this effort we will develop a novel fabrication technique for UV micro-lasers and, in Phase II, develop the lasers and expand the power potential of these micro-lasers. We will fabricate this new class of UV excimer laser using semi-conductor basedmicro-processing and micro-fabrication techniques. The effort will focus on a novel excitation scheme that we term a micro-transverse discharge. Unlike micro-hollow cathode discharges, which we are examining in other efforts, the dimensions of these laserdevices are somewhat larger than the 100 microns for our micro-hollow discharge research, but smaller than conventional excimer lasers. The larger scale size requires pre-ionization to establish a stable fast pulse discharge. For this we will use arraysof micro-hollow discharges which we are developing in parallel also. The Phase I effort will focus on micro-fabrication methods for the key surfaces. These methods are analogous to silicon processing methods, but are used with halogen compatiblematerials. The Phase I effort will result in a prototype laser head and simple electrical characterization of this structure under fast pulse excitation. The path for Phase II development into efficient, very high pulse rate UV lasers in the 1W to 10Wpower range will be defined in Phase I.This research will provide a unique UV light source with the potential for manufactured cost being a factor of five or more lower than that pertaining to conventional UV lasers, either gas phase or solid state. Wesee applications in ~1km scale length remote sensing, in photo-processing and photo-lithography and other applications requiring excellent UV beam quality.