High-resolution imaging and inspection require stable, high-intensity ultraviolet light sources. Excimer lasers provide deep UV illumination with excellent beam quality, enabling precise optical inspection, metrology, and imaging in advanced technological environments.
Enabling Precision Inspection with Deep UV Light
Detecting fine structures and defects in modern optical and semiconductor systems requires illumination sources that provide both high resolution and consistent performance. Deep ultraviolet light enables access to smaller feature sizes and improves contrast in complex structures.
This section outlines how excimer lasers support high-precision inspection and imaging applications, from photomask verification to optical characterization, by delivering stable, high-energy UV illumination tailored to demanding measurement environments.
UV Illumination & Imaging Applications
High-resolution imaging and inspection require stable, high-intensity ultraviolet light sources. Excimer lasers provide deep UV illumination with excellent beam quality, enabling precise optical inspection, metrology, and imaging in advanced technological environments.
DUV Photomask and Reticle Inspection
High-resolution inspection of photomasks and reticles requires precise ultraviolet illumination to detect defects such as particles, scratches, or critical dimensions (CD) deviations. 193 nm excimer lasers deliver stable, short-wavelength pulses that enable accurate defect identification on both blank and patterned masks.
Patterned-mask inspection often employs Reticle-Plane Imaging (RPI), projecting the mask image onto a detector for digital evaluation. The short-wavelength 193 nm light interacts strongly with mask materials, producing high contrast between defects and background. Excimer lasers deliver stable, nanosecond-scale pulses that maintain consistent illumination, supporting high-throughput inspection pipelines.
These sources are industry-proven for DUV inspection and related metrology applications, including critical dimension (CD) measurement and aerial imaging. Optional 248 nm wavelengths can be used for coarser structures or older nodes, complementing the 193 nm standard.
MLase GmbH develops compact excimer laser sources with high pulse-to-pulse stability and robust beam quality, enabling reliable integration into semiconductor inspection systems and advanced metrology platforms.
Aerial Imaging for Reticle Pattern Verification
Evaluating reticle performance in conditions that replicate lithography scanners requires precise UV illumination. 193 nm excimer lasers generate high-fidelity aerial images for assessing critical dimensions, phase-shift features, and mask error enhancement factors.
Excimer lasers act as a stable UV light source, delivering high-quality 193 nm UV pulses that are compatible with advanced optical metrology platforms. Their stability and reproducibility support precise evaluation of reticle patterns under scanner-like illumination conditions, enabling accurate assessment of feature fidelity and lithography performance. These laser sources are widely used in DUV lithography simulation tools and integrate reliably into established aerial imaging setups for mask verification.
MLase GmbH develops excimer UV light source systems with stable output and precise beam control, enabling integration into advanced reticle imaging platforms and high-precision optical lithography metrology systems.
R&D Lithography and Process Development
Compact excimer lasers deliver ultraviolet illumination for research- and prototype-scale lithography, enabling high-resolution patterning and precise UV exposure of photoresists in academic, laboratory, or small-volume semiconductor environments.
These lasers offer stable, nanosecond-scale pulses at 193 nm or 248 nm, matching standard lithography exposure wavelengths and ensuring consistent resist profiles across experiments. Their small-footprint, low-power design makes them ideal for R&D tools, teaching platforms, and prototype development, where repeatable UV exposure is critical.
As a stable UV light source, excimer sources support a variety of lithographic coatings and photoresists while remaining compatible with research-grade optical setups. They are not intended for high-power production tools, but excel in laboratory, academic, or pilot-scale environments where flexibility, precision, and stability are paramount.
MLase GmbH develops excimer laser sources optimized for integration into R&D lithography and academic photonics systems, delivering consistent UV illumination for experiments, prototyping, and teaching applications.
Optics Characterization & UV Optical Testing
Deep-UV illumination plays a critical role in optics testing and characterization of optical components, coatings, sensors, and photonic devices. Excimer lasers provide stable, high-energy ultraviolet emission that enables precise optical inspection, metrology, and defect detection across research laboratories and industrial testing environments.
In optical laboratories and industrial metrology systems, deep-UV illumination is widely used for advanced optics testing and sensor testing, allowing engineers to detect defects, analyze material behavior, and evaluate optical performance that cannot be observed at visible wavelengths. Excimer lasers operating at 193 nm and 248 nm deliver intense UV pulses that enable high-resolution inspection of optical substrates, coatings, photomasks, sensors, and micro-optical components.
These short-wavelength UV light source systems enable controlled illumination of surfaces and optical structures, supporting coating characterization, transmission measurements, defect detection, and precision optics testing of photonic devices.
Because many optical materials exhibit strong absorption or unique scattering behavior in the deep-UV range, excimer-based illumination can reveal nanoscale surface imperfections, subsurface defects, and coating irregularities that remain invisible at longer wavelengths. Such capabilities are widely used in photonics research, semiconductor inspection, and optical manufacturing quality control.
MLase GmbH develops compact excimer UV light source systems designed for integration into optical test benches, metrology systems, and scientific instrumentation. With stable pulse energy and reliable UV emission, these systems provide consistent illumination for high-precision optics testing and optical characterization in both laboratory and industrial environments.
Why Excimer Lasers
Our Commitment to Quality
MLase operates as a medical device manufacturer with a quality management system certified according to ISO 13485/ EN ISO 13485. Our products are developed and manufactured to meet the highest standards of performance, reliability, and quality.
This commitment ensures that our excimer laser systems support safe and dependable operation in demanding medical applications.
Learn about our technology, company, products, and OEM partnership model
- MLI Series of industrial standard excimer lasers with 193 nm and 248 nm
- Multiple optics, power and cooling configurations
- Enabling fast adaptions to application or marktes
- Understand our OEM Partnership Model
- Typical integration elements
- Infrastructure supporting scalable volume-requirements
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