Evaluating the electric field distribution of an excimer laser chamber via three-dimensional simulations

Abstract

The generation of a high-pressure, large-volume, uniform and stable glow discharge is the key technology of the excimer laser, which could be largely affected by the electric field distribution between the electrodes in the discharge chamber. In this work, the spatial distributions of the electric field in an excimer laser discharge chamber with preionization pins (PIPs) are numerically evaluated via a three-dimensional (3D) simulation model. The effects of the number ($N$) of pairs of PIPs and their arrangements (symmetrical or staggered) on the inhomogeneity of electric field strength are determined. The results indicate that the presence of PIPs can cause electric field distortion between electrodes, resulting in a wavy distribution. As the number ($N$) of pairs of PIPs increases, the electric field strength homogeneity between electrodes can be improved considerably. When the number ($N$) of pairs of PIPs is 2 (i.e., $N=2$), the inhomogeneity of the electric field strength (${\delta }_{N=2,\text{stag}}=0.183\text{\%}$) with a staggered arrangement is obviously better than that (${\delta }_{N=2,\text{symm}}=0.514\text{\%}$) with a symmetrical arrangement. With the PIPs arranged symmetrically, the inhomogeneity of the electric field strength $\delta$ remains below 0.2% when $N$ $\ge$ 8. These results indicate that the characteristics of the electric field distributions can be influenced by the PIPs in the discharge chamber, which may provide potential insights for the design and optimization of excimer laser devices.