APS March Meeting 2010
Volume 55, Number 2
Monday–Friday, March 15–19, 2010;
Portland, Oregon
Session B5: Five Legacies from the Laser
11:15 AM–2:15 PM,
Monday, March 15, 2010
Room: Portland Ballroom 256
Sponsoring
Units:
FHP FIAP
Chair: Daniel Kleppner, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract ID: BAPS.2010.MAR.B5.5
Abstract: B5.00005 : The Excimer Laser: Its Impact on Science and Industry
1:39 PM–2:15 PM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Dirk Basting
(Lambda Physik Founder)
After the laser was demonstrated in 1960, 15 years were required
to develop a practical method for extending laser emission into
the UV: the Excimer laser. This historical review will describe
the challenges with the new medium and provide an insight into
the technological achievements. In the transition from Science to
Industry it will be shown how start-ups successfully
commercialized laboratory prototypes. The pioneers in this
rapidly expanding field will be identified and the influence of
government-funded research as well as the role of venture capital
will be discussed. In scientific applications, the fields of
photochemistry and material research were particularly stimulated
by the advent of a reliable UV light source. Numerous industrial
applications and worldwide research in novel applications were
fueled In the early and mid 80's by progress in excimer laser
performance and technology. The discovery of ablative
photocomposition of polymer materials by Srinivasan at IBM opened
the door to a multitude of important excimer applications.
Micromachining with extreme precision with an excimer laser
enabled the success of the inkjet printer business. Biological
materials such as the human cornea can also be ``machined'' at
193nm, as proposed in 1983 by Trokel and Srinivasan. This
provided the foundation of a new medical technology and an
industry relying on the excimer laser to perform refractive
surgery to correct vision Today, by far the largest use of the
excimer laser is in photolithography to manufacture semiconductor
chips, an application discovered by Jain at IBM in the early
80's. Moore's law of shrinking the size of the structure to
multiply the number of transistors on a chip could not have held
true for so long without the deep UV excimer laser as a light
source. The presentation will conclude with comments on the most
recent applications and latest market trends.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2010.MAR.B5.5