Time-resolved studies of scintillation materials with VUV harmonic ultrashort pulses laser source

A new VUV laser source and its possible applications in the investigation of scintillator materials are discussed. The femtosecond duration and high intensity of Ti-sapphire laser pulses lead to direct generation in a gas of high-order harmonics (HH) with spectrum extended up to VUV-X region. An HH radiation source with up to 10/sup 10/ photons per harmonic and femtosecond pulse duration offers new possibilities for the study of energy relaxation processes in solids under VUV and X-ray excitations as compared to the synchrotron radiation and pulsed X-ray tube. We describe the design of a 20-fs and 20-mJ laser chain operating at a repetition rate of 1 kHz, as well as the design of the VUV beam line composed of the high-order harmonics generation chamber, VUV monochromator, and experimental chamber. We present the results on HH spectra studies and the first measurements of decay kinetics of scintillators (BaF/sub 2/ and anthracene) excited by HH radiation.