Patent ID: 6525868
Filing Date: 2003-02-25
Classification: G02F

Abstract:
A nonlinear optical mixer for producing coherent vacuum ultraviolet radiation, the nonlinear optical mixer comprising:a cell containing a gas mixture of xenon gas and a phase-marching gas, wherein the phase-matching gas is mercury vapor; a pump laser source for generating a pump laser beam directed towards the gas mixture, wherein a sum of two photons from the pump laser beam preferentially excites a two-photon transition in the xenon gas; and a mixing laser source for generating a mixing laser beam directed towards the gas mixture, wherein coherent vacuum ultraviolet radiation is produced by the four wave mixing of a photon from the mixing laser beam with the two photons from the pump laser beam; the gas mixture achieves phase matching of the four wave mixing; and the coherent vacuum ultraviolet radiation has a wavelength of approximately 157.6 nm if the coherent vacuum ultraviolet radiation is produced by difference frequency generation or a wavelength of approximately 121.6 nm if the coherent vacuum ultraviolet radiation is produced by sum frequency generation.