A method for emitting laser light in the form of laser pulses, including the steps: planning a laser pulse based on pulse parameters, checking whether laser pulses which were emitted within a predefined preceding time interval, together with the planned pulse, meet a predefined energy criterion, and emitting the planned laser pulse with the aid of an emitting unit if the energy criterion is met, and not emitting the planned laser pulse or reducing a power of the laser pulse if the energy criterion is not met.

A method includes driving, while producing a burst of pulses at a pulse repetition rate, a spectral feature adjuster among a set of discrete states at a frequency correlated with the pulse repetition rate; and in between the production of the bursts of pulses (while no pulses are being produced), driving the spectral feature adjuster according to a driving signal defined by a set of parameters. Each discrete state corresponds to a discrete value of a spectral feature. The method includes ensuring that the spectral feature adjuster is in one of the discrete states that corresponds to a discrete value of the spectral feature of the amplified light beam when a pulse in the next burst is produced by adjusting one or more of: an instruction to the lithography exposure apparatus, the driving signal to the spectral feature adjuster, and/or the instruction to the optical source.

The present invention provides a fiber laser system, comprising: a master laser cavity for generating a master laser beam; a beam splitter for splitting the master laser beam into a first beam for generating a first color pulsed laser beam and a second beam for generating a second color pulsed laser beam; and a synchronization component configured to synchronize the first color pulsed laser beam and a second color pulsed laser beam based on coherent wavelength generation.

A laser apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a laser oscillator that outputs pulsed laser light, a deformable mirror including a deformer that deforms a reflective surface, a first processor that drives the deformer during the period for which the reflective surface reflects the pulsed laser light, a homogenizer that homogenizes the pulsed laser light reflected off the deformable mirror, and a spectrum measuring instrument that measures the spectrum of the pulsed laser light homogenized by the homogenizer.

A system includes: an optical source including a plurality of optical oscillators; a spectral analysis apparatus; and a controller. Each optical oscillator is configured to produce a light beam. The controller is configured to: determine, based on data from the spectral analysis apparatus, whether the spectral property of the light beam of one of the optical oscillators is different than the spectral property of the light beam of at least another of the plurality of optical oscillators. If the spectral property of the light beam of the first one of the optical oscillators is different than the spectral property of the light beam of another of the optical oscillators, the controller is configured to adjust the spectral property of the light beam of the first one of the optical oscillators or of the light beam of at least one other of the optical oscillators.

A line narrowing device includes first and second prisms disposed at positions different in a wavelength dispersion direction of any of the first and second prisms, a third prism disposed on the optical path of an optical beam and through which the beam width of the optical beam is enlarged and first and second parts of the optical beam are incident on the first and second prisms, respectively, a grating disposed across the optical path of the first part having passed through the first prism and the optical path of the second part having passed through the second prism, a first actuator configured to adjust the incident angle of the first part on the grating, a second actuator configured to adjust the incident angle of the second part on the grating, and a third actuator configured to adjust an energy ratio of the first and second parts.

A control method for a line narrowed gas laser apparatus is a control method for a line narrowed gas laser apparatus configured to emit a pulse laser beam including a first wavelength component and a second wavelength component. The apparatus includes a laser chamber including a pair of electrodes, an optical resonator including an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a parameter of an energy ratio of the first and second wavelength components, and a processor in which relation data indicating a relation of the parameter of the energy ratio with a control parameter of the adjustment mechanism is stored. The control method includes receiving a command value of the parameter of the energy ratio from an external device, and acquiring, based on the relation data, a value of the control parameter corresponding to the command value and controlling the adjustment mechanism based on the value of the control parameter.

In accordance with an example embodiment, a laser arrangement is provided, the laser arrangement comprising a light source for generating light output; a collimator assembly for collimating the light output from the light source into a pump beam; an optical resonator assembly for generating pulsed output beam based on the pump beam directed thereat; and a beam displacement assembly for laterally shifting the pump beam to adjust the position at which the pump beam meets a surface of the optical resonator assembly.

An exposure system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a laser apparatus emitting a pulse laser beam, an illumination optical system guiding the pulse laser beam to a reticle, a reticle stage moving the reticle, and a processor controlling emission of the pulse laser beam and movement of the reticle. The exposure system performs scanning exposure of a semiconductor substrate by irradiating the reticle with the pulse laser beam. The reticle has first and second regions. The processor instructs the laser apparatus about, based on proximity effect characteristics corresponding to the first and second regions, a value of a control parameter of the pulse laser beam corresponding to each region so that the laser apparatus emits the pulse laser beam with which a difference of the proximity effect characteristic of each region from a reference proximity effect characteristic is in an allowable range.

An exposure system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a laser apparatus that outputs pulsed laser light, an illuminating optical system that guides the pulsed laser light to a reticle, a reticle stage, and a processor that controls the output of the pulsed laser light from the laser apparatus and the movement of the reticle performed by the reticle stage. The reticle has a first region where a first pattern is disposed and a second region where a second pattern is disposed, and the first and second regions are each a region continuous in a scan width direction perpendicular to a scan direction of the pulsed laser light, with the first and second regions arranged side by side in the scan direction. The processor controls the laser apparatus to output the pulsed laser light according to each of the first and second regions by changing the values of control parameters of the pulsed laser light in accordance with each of the first and second regions.