ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW VUV AND UV SOLID-STATE LASER SOURCES FOR PHOTOCHEMICAL APPLICATIONS

Laser action in the VUV and UV region of the spectrum at 172 nm and at 260 nm had been obtained from LaF3:Nd3+ and LiYF4:Nd3+ crystals respe ctively when they were pumped with an F2 pulsed discharge molecular la ser at 157 nm. The fluorescence spectrum of LiYF4:Ho3+ monocrystals us ing the same pumping source has been obtained as well and it suggests that this crystal can be used for generating tunable coherent VUV and UV radiation. This finding opens new prospects for the development of a new class of solid state VUV and UV laser sources for photochemical applications.