Abstract: Two excimer lasers have individual pulsing circuits each including a storage capacitor which is charged and then discharged through a pulse transformer to generate an electrical pulse, which is delivered to the laser to generate a light pulse. The time between generation of the electrical pulse and creation of the light pulse is dependent on the charged voltage of the capacitor. The capacitors are charged while disconnected from each other. The generation of the electrical pulses is synchronized by connecting the capacitors together for a brief period after the capacitors are charged to equalize the charging voltages. The capacitors are disconnected from each other before they are discharged.

Abstract: A method of operating a digitally modulated solid state laser is disclosed. The laser is optically pumped by a current-supply driven diode-laser radiation and with output-power stabilized at a desired value by a light regulator cooperative with a power monitor and the current source is disclosed. When the laser is turned on, the current-source is enabled and the light-regulator is disabled. A current regulator allows current from the current-supply to increase until the monitored power reaches the desired value. At this point, the light regulator is enabled and the light regulator assumes control of the current-supply for maintaining the output-power at the desired level.

Abstract: Apparatus for steering a beam of radiation includes a thermally anisotropic element configured such that the shape of the optical element can be varied by varying the temperature of the element. The beam is reflected from or transmitted through the element in a manner such that the direction of the beam on leaving the element can be varied by the change of shape resulting from the temperature variation.

Abstract: A device for spectroscopy using charged analytes has an electron generator, which sends electrons through membrane into a charging chamber. The thermal strain of the membrane may be lowered significantly if a material is selected for the membrane which contains at least one component from the group of oxides, nitrides, and carbides with at least one of the elements B, Al, C, Si, and Ti or polysilicon.