Generation of Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiation in Phase-Matched Cd Vapor

We report the generation of 1773-, 1520-, and 1182-Å radiation by frequency tripling and summing in a phase-matched mixture of Cd and Ar. For the third-harmonic process, $5320\to 1773$ Å phase matching occurs for Cd and Ar atoms in the ratio 1: 25, and ${\chi }^{\mathrm{}\left(3\right)\mathrm{}}\cong 2\times {10}^{-34\mathrm{}}$ esu/atom. The energy conversion efficiency to 1773 Å was about ${10}^{-4\mathrm{}}$, yielding a peak picosecond power of 7 kW.