Abstract

The plasma generated by focusing a 20-Hz, 330-mJ, Nd:YAG laser pulse in a rare gas at pressures from 1 to 6 bars is proposed as a source of a VUV continuum giving as many as 10⁹ photons nm⁻¹ sec⁻¹ near 170 nm. Its stability makes it suited to VUV spectrophotometry. The pulse duration, ranging from 20 nsec for Ne to 40 nsec for Kr, should also permit its use in time-resolved spectroscopy.

© 1987 Optical Society of America

Rare Gas Light Sources for the Vacuum Ultraviolet

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