Vacuum ultraviolet pulses of 11 fs from fifth-harmonic generation of a Ti:sapphire laser

We demonstrate that in a short Ar cell, generation of the fifth harmonic from 12 fs pulses at 810 nm directly results in ultrashort vacuum UV pulses at 162 nm. They have a spectral width of similar to 5 mm and a duration of 11 +/- 1 fs (1.4 times the transform limit), as measured by cross correlation with the fundamental pulses. Their energy (estimated to 4 nJ) turned out to be sufficient for use as a pump in time-resolved experiments. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.