Micron-image transfer system with brightness amplifier in gold-vapor laser

A gas-discharge gold-vapor laser on self-terminating transitions with operating wavelength λ=312.2 nm has been used to develop a highly efficient system for image transfer. An optical scheme and all its parameters have been chosen optimal for image quality. It has been found both theoretically and experimentally that the best results on micron-structure image transfer are obtained with 2–5-times image reduction. Various types of masks have been used. A 1-µm structure has been resolved due to the choice of optimal exposure time of 10 ms under a period of pulse repetition (0.6 – 0.8) ms; in this case, the minimal fringe dimension was ≈2 µm with an image dimension of 2 mm for a laser tube 1.8 cm in diameter.