GENERATION OF TUNABLE SHORT-PULSE VUV RADIATION BY 4-WAVE-MIXING IN XENON WITH FEMTOSECOND KRF-EXCIMER LASER-PULSES

A four-wave difference-frequency mixing scheme based on near resonant two-photon excitation of xenon with a femtosecond KrF-excimer laser system is used to generate tunable short pulse radiation in the VUV and UV spectral range between 133 and 355 nm with output energies of several muJ by applying tunable nanosecond laser radiation in the range of 1905 nm to 185 nm. At the excimer laser wavelengths of 193 nm (ArF), 308 nm (XeCl) and 351 nm (XeF), the process has been used to generate high power short pulse radiation by double-pass amplification in an additional excimer laser discharge. So far, output energies of 1.9, 3.0, and 2.8 mJ, respectively, have been obtained at pulse durations in the range of 1 ps. Nonlinear susceptibilities for the difference-frequency mixing process were calculated from a stationary susceptibility formalism and compared to experimental values.