Excimer lasers are widely used in analytical and scientific instruments where precise ultraviolet interaction with materials is required. Their deep-UV wavelengths enable controlled ablation, ionization, and photochemical processes that support high-sensitivity measurement and reproducible analytical results.
Excimer Use From Material Sampling to Photon-Driven Analysis
Analytical workflows using ultraviolet lasers typically follow two distinct approaches. One relies on controlled material removal, where small amounts of a sample are ablated and transferred into analytical instruments. The other is based on direct optical excitation, where laser radiation induces emission, ionization, or photochemical reactions within the sample.
This section outlines how excimer lasers support both regimes, enabling reproducible sampling as well as stable excitation processes for advanced analytical and laboratory techniques.
UV Laser Sources for Analytical Sampling & Ionization
Many modern analytical techniques rely on precise sampling and controlled ionization of materials. Excimer lasers provide high-energy UV pulses that enable reproducible ablation, excitation, and ionization across a wide range of scientific and laboratory applications.
Laser Ablation for ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) and TOF-MS Analysis
Precise sampling of solid materials for mass spectrometry requires controlled laser ablation using short-wavelength ultraviolet radiation. UV laser sources such as ArF excimer lasers operating at 193 nm enable highly reproducible material removal and support LA-ICP-MS workflows used for quantitative and isotopic analysis of geological, biological, semiconductor, and ceramic samples.
Deep-UV excimer lasers enable controlled UV laser ablation that produces clean ablation with minimal thermal impact. This low-thermal ablation behavior reduces elemental fractionation and preserves spatial fidelity during laser ablation, making the technique particularly suitable for high-precision LA-ICP-MS and ICP-TOF-MS measurements.
Short nanosecond pulses generate well-defined ablation craters with minimal thermal effects, supporting efficient particle transport into ICP-MS and TOF-MS detection systems. The resulting low-thermal ablation improves analytical stability and enables rapid elemental imaging, high-resolution mapping, and fast transient detection.
MLase GmbH develops compact excimer UV laser sources optimized for integration into LA-ICP-MS and LA-TOF-MS platforms. These systems deliver stable UV pulses that ensure reproducible laser ablation and reliable analytical performance across a wide range of materials, supporting high-precision spectroscopic workflows including UV spectroscopy and advanced elemental analysis.
Water- or liquid-cooled operation allows continuous operation with repetition rates up to 1 kHz, enabling stable laser ablation and consistent measurement conditions in both laboratory and industrial analytical environments.
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is an analytical technique used to determine elemental composition by generating a laser-induced plasma on the surface of a material and analyzing its emitted spectrum. Deep-UV excimer lasers, including ArF laser sources at 193 nm, enable precise plasma formation and controlled ablation, making laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy highly effective for elemental analysis across a wide range of solid materials.
In LIBS measurements, a short high-energy laser pulse creates a localized plasma on the sample surface. This plasma generation produces characteristic spectral lines that allow accurate identification of the elemental composition of the material. Deep-UV excimer pulses interact efficiently with many solid materials, enabling stable plasma formation and controlled ablation across metals, alloys, ceramics, soils, minerals, and geological samples.
The clean ablation behavior of excimer-based LIBS systems reduces thermal effects and improves spectral reproducibility, ensuring reliable analytical results. High repetition rates also enable rapid scanning and elemental imaging workflows used in modern LIBS instruments for process monitoring and laboratory analysis.
MLase GmbH develops compact excimer LIBS laser sources optimized for integration into analytical platforms and spectroscopic instrumentation. Their stable nanosecond pulses, high repetition rates, and water- or liquid-cooled operation support continuous operation up to 1 kHz, enabling stable laser-induced plasma generation and repeatable analytical measurements in both laboratory and industrial environments.
Laser Ionization for Aerosol Mass Spectrometry (LIZA-MS)
Real-time analysis of airborne particles requires efficient laser ionization of extremely small material quantities. Excimer-based UV laser sources provide high-energy ultraviolet photons that enable direct laser ionization of aerosol particles, supporting rapid chemical characterization in aerosol mass spectrometry systems such as LIZA-MS.
In laser ionization aerosol mass spectrometry, individual particles are ionized as they pass through the instrument, allowing chemical composition to be measured in real time. Deep-UV excimer wavelengths such as 193 nm and 248 nm UV laser radiation interact strongly with organic and inorganic aerosol constituents, enabling efficient ionization with minimal fragmentation and stable ion formation during particle analysis.
These systems can ionize airborne aerosol particles across a wide particle-size range, supporting detailed analysis of atmospheric aerosols, particulate matter, industrial emissions, and combustion by-products. Stable pulse energy and high repetition rates of the UV laser enable fast transient detection and single-particle analysis, making the technology suitable for environmental monitoring and atmospheric research applications.
MLase GmbH develops compact excimer UV laser sources optimized for integration into specialized aerosol mass spectrometry platforms including LIZA-MS instruments. Their stable UV pulses support reliable laser ionization and advanced spectroscopic workflows in OEM analytical instruments designed for real-time particle characterization.
UV Laser Photolysis
Photolysis experiments rely on high-energy ultraviolet photons to initiate chemical reactions and generate short-lived molecular species. Excimer-based UV laser sources deliver intense deep-UV pulses that enable controlled bond cleavage and reproducible photolysis initiation in advanced UV photochemistry and spectroscopic studies.
In laser-based photolysis experiments, a short ultraviolet pulse triggers molecular dissociation, producing radicals and transient intermediates that can be analyzed using time-resolved spectroscopy. The 248 nm wavelength of KrF excimer lasers provides the high UV photon energies required to drive photochemical reactions in many gas-phase and molecular systems.
The nanosecond pulse structure of a UV laser enables precisely timed reaction initiation, supporting kinetic measurements, transient absorption spectroscopy, and fluorescence analysis. Stable pulse energy and wavelength ensure reproducible experimental conditions, which is essential for controlled photolysis experiments and analytical research workflows.
In specialized research applications, excimer-driven photolysis can also break down aerosol or particulate species. The resulting fragments can be detected through characteristic fluorescence or spectroscopic signatures, sometimes referred to as Excimer Laser Fragmentation Fluorescence Spectroscopy (ELFFS).
MLase GmbH develops compact UV laser sources designed for integration into scientific photochemistry setups and analytical instrumentation. Their stable deep-UV output enables reliable photolysis and spectroscopic analysis in laboratory and OEM research platforms used for molecular analysis and reaction kinetics.
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
Contact Us
Ready to talk about your application needs? Get in contact with our sales team or one of our trained authorized partners.