Laser-plasma sourced, temperature dependent, VUV spectrophotometer using dispersive analysis

We have developed a vacuum ultraviolet spectrophotometer with wide energy and temperature range coverage, utilizing a laser-plasma light source (LPLS), CO2-laser sample heating and time-resolved dispersive analysis. Reflection and transmission spectra can be taken from 1.7 to 40 eV (31-700 nm) on samples at 15-1800 K with a time resolution of 20-400 ns. These capabilities permit the study of the temperature dependence of the electronic structure, encompassing the effects of thermal lattice expansion and electron-phonon interaction, and changes in the electronic structure associated with equilibrium and metastable phase transitions and stress relaxation. The LPLS utilizes a samarium laser-plasma created by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (500 mJ/pulse) to produce high brightness, stable, continuum radiation. The spectrophotometer is of a single beam design using calibrated iridium reference mirrors. White light is imaged off the sample in to the entrance slit of a 1-m polychromator. The resolution is 0.1 to 0.3 nm. The dispersed light is incident on a focal plane phosphor, fiber-optic-coupled to an image-intensified reticon detector. For spectroscopy between 300 and 1800 K, the samples are heated in situ with a 150 Watt CO2 laser. The signal to noise ratio in the VUV, for samples at 1800 K, is excellent. From 300 K to 15 K samples are cooled using a He cryostat. (orig.)