Use of a laser-produced plasma as a source of focused vacuum-ultraviolet continuum radiation

We report use of laser-generated plasmas as ultraviolet continuum sources of high shot-to-shot and long-term reproducibility suitable for photoelectric scanning measurements of absorption spectra. We have used such a source combined with a focusing geometry to obtain resonance-line-absorption profiles from a 30-cm column of hot plasma. This work also confirms and extends the photographic evidence of Carroll et al. that intense and line-free continua can be obtained from such plasmas with suitable choice of target material.