A laser amplification device includes a laser oscillator that includes a first laser active medium including a mixed gas containing carbon dioxide gas and emits pulsed laser light with the full width at half maximum of between 15 ns to 200 ns, and a laser amplifier that includes a second laser active medium including a mixed gas containing carbon dioxide gas through which the pulsed laser light emitted from the laser oscillator passes to be shortened to pulsed laser light with the full width at half maximum of between 5 ns and 30 ns to be output.

A method for providing spectral beam combining (SBC) including generating a plurality seed beams each having a central wavelength and a low fill factor profile, where the wavelength of all of the seed beams is different; amplifying the seed beams; causing the amplified beams to expand as they propagate so as to be converted from the low fill factor profile to a high fill factor profile where the high fill factor profile tapers to a lower value at a perimeter of each beam; causing a wavefront of the converted beams to flatten to provide a plurality of adjacent SBC beams having different wavelengths with minimal overlap and a minimal gap between the beams; collimating the SBC beams; and directing the collimated SBC beams onto an SBC element that spatially diffracts the individual beam wavelengths and directing the beams in the same direction as a combined output beam.

A laser device may include a laser resonator; a chamber arranged on an optical path of the laser resonator; a pair of electrodes arranged in the chamber; a power source applying a voltage to the electrodes; a storage unit storing a voltage value; and a control unit configured to set an application voltage value of the voltage applied to the electrodes as setting the application voltage value for outputting a pulse whose pulse number is equal to or larger than 1 and smaller than i based on the voltage command value and the voltage value stored in the storage unit, and setting the application voltage for outputting a pulse whose pulse number is equal to or larger than i and smaller than j based on the voltage command value and an offset value corresponding to the voltage command value, where i>1 and j>i.

Laser annealing apparatus includes a plurality of frequency-tripled solid-state lasers, each delivering an output beam of radiation at a wavelength between 340 nm and 360 nm. Each output beam has a beam-quality factor (M.sup.2) greater of than 50 in one transverse axis and greater than 20 in another transverse axis. The output beams are combined and formed into a line-beam that is projected on a substrate being annealed. Each output beam contributes to the length of the line-beam.

A fractional handpiece and systems thereof for skin treatment include a passively Q-switched laser assembly operatively connected to a pump laser source to receive a pump laser beam having a first wavelength and a beam splitting assembly operable to split a solid beam emitted by the passively Q-switched laser assembly and form an array of micro-beams across a segment of skin. The passively Q-switched laser assembly generates a high power sub-nanosecond pulsed laser beam having a second wavelength.

An optical system for increasing contrast of pulsed laser radiation includes a first polarization setting optical unit for setting an elliptical polarization state of the pulsed laser radiation, and a multipass cell having at least two opposing mirrors. The pulsed laser radiation passes the multipass cell with formation of a plurality of intermediate focus zones. The multipass cell is filled with a gas having an optical nonlinearity that causes an intensity-dependent rotation of an alignment of the elliptical polarization state of the pulsed laser radiation, such that the multipass cell outputs beam portions having differently aligned elliptical polarization states on account of the intensity-dependent rotation. The optical system further includes an optical beam splitting system for splitting the beam portions having differently aligned elliptical polarization states.

A laser device according to one embodiment includes a laser light source configured to output pulsed laser light L1 and a pulse width control unit configured to amplify the pulsed laser light output from the laser light source, change a pulse width of the pulsed laser light, and output the pulsed laser light. The pulse width control unit includes a first laser amplifier configured to amplify the pulsed laser light and a pulse waveform manipulation unit disposed between the first laser amplifier and the laser light source and configured to manipulate a pulse waveform of the pulsed laser light.

Laser amplifier apparatus 100 includes gain medium 10 for receiving seed pulse(s) 2 and pump pulse(s) 3 and for emitting laser pulse(s) 1, resonator device 20 including gain medium and resonator mirrors spanning resonator beam path 25 with multi-pass geometry, coupler arrangement 30 for coupling seed pulse(s) and pump pulse(s) to resonator device and coupling output laser pulse(s) out of resonator device, and gain medium cooling device 40A. Resonator mirrors include first and second telescope mirrors 21, 22 with mutual distance and common focal section therebetween and defining optical axis z of resonator device, and first and second groups of end mirrors 23, 24 between mirrors 21 and 22 for forming path 25, wherein end mirrors are on ring-shaped section surrounding optical axis z, and resonator are arranged such that emitting sections of the gain medium are imaged in themselves. A method of amplifying laser pulses is also described.

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.

Provided is a laser device in which: a laser medium doped with ytterbium emits light upon absorption of excitation light; the light emitted by the laser medium is amplified to obtain output light; and the output light is outputted in the form of a plurality of pulses. In the laser device, a spatial filter is disposed in the optical path of the light emitted by the laser medium or is disposed in the optical path of the output light outputted from an optical resonator, the spatial filter being configured to filter out a portion of the light or of the output light around the optical axis.