Abstract

Frequency tripling, four-wave mixing and high-order nonlinear interactions of high-intensity laser radiation in rare gases and hydrogen are mechanism considered and used for the generation of coherent VUV, XUV and soft x-ray radiation. Currently, high-power laser systems in the IR, visible and UV spectral range provide the pump laser radiation for these nonlinear interactions. The XUV and soft x-ray spectral range is covered only by high-order interactions with low conversion efficiency. Consequently, considerable improvement could be introduced by high-power laser systems operating at VUV wavelengths, which would permit the generation of coherent radiation below 100 nm by efficient low-order nonlinear optical processes.

© 1994 Optical Society of America