Excimer laser electrode optimization and solids-based fluorine generation system for operational lifetime extension

该项目旨在与Lightmachinery Inc.合作，为准分子激光技术开发一种基于应用的氟储存器，位于安大略渥太华的CO2和准分子激光技术制造商。准分子激光器在操作过程中需要使用氟气，这种化合物与其以气态形式使用和储存相关，具有显著的安全风险。目前的现场氟存储策略使用低浓度的气体混合物来最小化暴露风险，这就需要在每次将新的氟注入操作系统期间增加这些激光系统中的稀有气体混合物的损失量。目前的工作旨在构建和测试一个基于固体的氟储层，开发将该系统与工业激光室集成所需的测量和控制方法，并在运行激光器上测试所开发的储层和监测系统。污染物管理系统的最新进展也为探索该系统内电极的替代合金提供了机会。这项工作涉及替代电极材料及其在激光等离子体环境下的腐蚀性能的测试和表征。

This project aims to develop an application-based Fluorine reservoir for Excimer laser technology in collaboration with Lightmachinery Inc., a manufacturer of CO2 and Excimer laser technology based in Ottawa, Ontario. Excimer lasers require the use of Fluorine gas during operation, a compound with significant safety risks associated with it's use and storage in gaseous form. Current on-site fluorine storage strategies use low-concentration gas mixtures to minimize exposure risk, necessitating increased amounts of the rare-gas mixtures in these laser systems to be lost during each injection of new fluorine into the operating system. The current work aims to construct and test a solids-based fluorine reservoir, developing the measurement and control methods required to integrate this system with industrial laser chambers, and testing the developed reservoir and monitoring systems on operational lasers. Recent advancements in contaminant management systems have also presented an opportunity for alternative alloys for the electrodes within this system to be explored. This work involved the testing and characterization of alternative electrode materials and their corrosion properties under a laser plasma environment.