Applications

The short wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectral region make possible a number of applications:

• the generation of very fine patterns with photolithographic methods, e.g. in semiconductor chip production
• material processing with laser ablation, exploiting the very short absorption lengths of the order of a few micrometers in many materials, so that a moderate pulse fluence of a few joules per square centimeter is sufficient for ablation
• pulsed laser deposition
• laser marking and microstructuring of glasses and plastics
• fabrication of fiber Bragg gratings
• ophthalmology (eye surgery), particularly for vision correction with ArF lasers at 193 nm; common methods are laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) and photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)
• psoriasis treatment with XeCl lasers at 308 nm
• pumping other lasers, e.g. certain dye lasers

Note that excimer lasers raise a variety of safety issues, related to the use of high voltages, the handling of poisonous gases (halogens), and the risk of causing skin cancer and eye damage by irradiation with ultraviolet light.