CAPILLARY ARRAY - NEW TYPE OF WINDOW FOR THE VACUUM ULTRAVIOLET

Experiments with optical radiation often require separation of a region of relatively high pressure from a lower-pressure region while allowing transmission of radiation between regions. When work is done with vacuum ultraviolet radiation (VUV), the problem is made more difficult by the small number of transparent materials, there being no bulk materials which transmit at shorter wavelengths than the 1050-Å cutoff of LiF. In this paper we report the successful use of glass capillary arrays combined with differential pumping to sustain large pressure differences with excellent transmission of radiation throughout the VUV region. © 1979 Optical Society of America.