Continuously tunable high-flux VUV beamline constructed on a picosecond KrF laser plasma source

Leading edge research in molecular dynamics, photoelectron spectroscopy, surface interactions and radiobiology has pushed forward the requirement for intense, pulsed, tunable sources of vacuum ultraviolet radiation. Presently, only synchrotron radiation sources are sufficiently bright for these applications. A bright, continuously tunable VUV beamline capable of delivering in excess of 1013 photons/sec/cm2/1nm BW 100 nm, 50 Hz repetition rate (BW equals (Delta) (lambda) /(lambda) is the bandwidth) to the sample, has been constructed on a plasma source generated by a high repetition rate, picosecond KrF excimer laser system.