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Thin Metal films have been deposited by a multiphoton ionization technique. Laser-initiated semi-conduct thin-film growth has been demonstrated and laser irradiation of the substrate has produced higher quality films than that obtained by growth without the laser. Also, laser induced breakdown (LIB) has been shown to be a highly sensitive technique for detecting minute impurities. In addition, a significant improvement in XeCl laser energy output has been realized by the injection of a low intensity UV laser pulse into the XeCl laser cavity.

Experiments are described in which lasers are used to generate specific Column IIIA metal ions. The first studies involved ion pair production in the metal-halide molecules (such as thallium iodide) by illuminating the vapor with 193 nm radiation. More recent experiments have succeeded in producing Al(+) ions by the multiphoton ionization (MPI) of metal alkyls (such as trimethylaluminum) in the visible. Another aspect of the current work is focusing on the use of ultraviolet radiation to enhance the growth rate of semiconductor films grown near pyrolytic threshold. The use of gaseous sensitizers (such as ammonia) to improve film growth rates and quality is also being explored. Finally, a simple photochemical means for improving the efficiency of a commercial XeCl laser by more than 50% has also been discovered. Originator furnished keywords include: Laser; Ultraviolet; Visible; Semiconductor films; Metal films; Excimer laser; Multiphoton ionization.

Simultaneous laser locking of IR and UV lasers to a visible stabilized reference laser is demonstrated via a Fabry-Perot cavity. LabVIEW is used to analyze the input and an internal PID algorithm converts the Fabry-Perot signal to an analog locking feedback signal. The locking program stabilized both lasers to a long term stability of better than 9 MHz, with a custom-built IR laser undergoing significant improvement in frequency stabilization. The results of this study demonstrate the viability of a simple computer-controlled, non temperature-stabilized Fabry-Perot locking scheme for our application, laser cooling of Ca+ ions, and its use in other applications with similar modest frequency stabilization requirements.