JPH0583200B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an improvement in the structure of a discharge electrode in, for example, a gas laser.

[Conventional technology]

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional discharge electrode section used in an excimer laser device described in, for example, the Laser Society of Japan Research Group Report (December 12, 1986) ``High Repetition Emicimer Laser.'' In the figure, 1 is one main 2 is an auxiliary electrode, 3 is a dielectric, and 4 is the other main electrode, which is arranged opposite to the aperture electrode 1 with the main discharge section 5 in between. ing. 6 is a spring, 7 is a contact surface 8 of the auxiliary electrode 2 is a holding member, 9 is a power supply terminal, and 10 is a power supply part.

First, a series of discharge operations will be explained. When a pulsed voltage is applied to the apertured electrode 1 and the auxiliary electrode 2, corona discharge occurs on the surface of the dielectric 3 inside each aperture of the apertured electrode 1. Due to this discharge, electrons are scattered near the surface of the open-hole electrode 1, and when a high voltage is applied between the open-hole electrode 1 and the other main electrode 4 in this state, the scattered electrons are used as seeds. A spatially uniform main discharge is formed. This kind of discharge is used to excite the laser medium,
Laser light is extracted in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper.

Here, if there is a gap between the auxiliary electrode 2 and the dielectric 3, corona discharge will occur even in that gap, and this discharge will occur on the opposite side of the main discharge field with the dielectric as a boundary, so it will be a source of the main discharge. It does not contribute to the operation of scattering electrons, resulting in wasted power consumption. Therefore, it is necessary that the auxiliary electrode 2 and the dielectric 3 are brought into close contact with each other. For this reason, conventionally, the auxiliary electrode 2 is pushed up with a spring 6, held so that the height of the adhesion surface 7 of the auxiliary electrode slightly protrudes from the surface of the holding material 8, the dielectric material 3 is covered from above, and then the contact surface 7 of the auxiliary electrode is held open. By placing the hole electrode 1, close contact between the auxiliary electrode 2 and the dielectric 3 was realized. During this assembly, the auxiliary electrode 2 will move up and down slightly, so the power supply terminal 9 must also be flexible, so a method of fixing thin metal plates to the auxiliary electrode 2 and the power supply part 10 with screws is required. It was pointed.

In addition, in order to arrange and hold a plurality of springs at predetermined positions (for example, a plurality of springs in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper), counterbore holes 80 and 2 are provided in the mate of the holding member 8 and the auxiliary electrode 2, respectively.
0 was set.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Since the conventional discharge electrode is constructed as described above, it has problems such as a complicated structure and extremely complicated maintenance such as assembly.

The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a discharge electrode that has a simple structure and is easy to maintain.

[Means to solve the problem]

The discharge electrode according to the present invention has its auxiliary electrode as
In addition to being arranged opposite to the aperture electrode with a dielectric material in between,
It is constructed of an elastic conductive material that is pressed into contact with the dielectric and the power supply section.

[Effect]

The auxiliary electrode in this invention has a structure in which the auxiliary electrode itself has a holding function to make it adhere to the dielectric material and a function as a power supply terminal of the power supply part, so that a discharge electrode with an extremely simple structure and easy maintenance can be obtained. .

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 5 represent the same or corresponding parts.

In the figure, the auxiliary electrode 2 is a hollow tube made of a conductive material, and has a structure with a thin wall and high elasticity. The power feeding part 10 is arranged on the holding material 8, and the auxiliary tube structure 2 is placed on this, and the auxiliary electrode 2 is slightly deformed so that the dielectric 3 and the aperture electrode 1 are connected to the auxiliary electrode 2. They are placed opposite each other. Since the auxiliary electrode itself has elasticity, no holding means such as a spring is required, and a simple structure is realized. Further, since the auxiliary electrode 2 is pressure-welded to the dielectric 3 and the power supply part 10 and has a structure in which it is in direct contact with these 3 and 10, the power supply terminal 9 is not necessary. It has an extremely easy-to-maintain structure that eliminates the need for conventional complicated processes such as fixing screws in place.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a hollow tube structure was used as the auxiliary electrode, but as shown in FIGS. 2a and b,
In the cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tube, a part of the tube is cut to further increase elasticity, or a third
As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the structure of a leaf spring having an S-shaped structure in the cross section may be adopted.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, there are a pair of main electrodes that face each other with a discharge section in between, one of which is an aperture electrode having a plurality of apertures; A discharge electrode is formed by a dielectric provided on the surface, and an auxiliary electrode made of an elastic conductive material, which is disposed opposite to the aperture electrode with the dielectric interposed therebetween, and which is pressed into contact with the dielectric and the power supply part. This configuration has the effect of providing a simple structure and easy maintenance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the main parts of a discharge electrode according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. A cross-sectional view showing the structure of the electrode, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional discharge electrode. In the figure, 1 is an aperture electrode, 2 is an auxiliary electrode, and 3 is an auxiliary electrode.
is a dielectric, 4 is the other main electrode, 5 is a discharge part,
10 is a power feeding section. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pair of main electrodes that face each other with a discharge part narrowed therein, one of which is an aperture electrode having a plurality of apertures, a dielectric provided on the surface of the aperture electrode opposite to the discharge part, and A discharge electrode comprising an auxiliary electrode made of a conductive material having elasticity, which is arranged to face the aperture electrode by narrowing the dielectric material, and is pressed into contact with the dielectric material and the power supply part.