Sub-180 nm generation with borate crystal

Abstract We demonstrated a new scheme for the generation of 179 nm vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) light with an all-solid-state laser system. It was achieved by mixing the deep-ultraviolet (DUV) of 198.8 nm and the infrared (IR) of 1799.9 nm. While CsB3O5 (CBO) did not satisfy the phase-matching at around 180 nm, 179 nm output was generated with LiB3O5 (LBO) for the first time. The phase-matching property of LBO at around 180 nm was also investigated. There was small deviation from theoretical curve in the measurement, which is still considered reasonable.