We measured the 229 nm absolute ultraviolet (UV) Raman cross-sections of the explosives trinitrotoluene (TNT), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), cyclotrimethylene-trinitramine (RDX), the chemically related nitroamine explosive HMX, and ammonium nitrate in solution. The 229 nm Raman cross-sections are 1000-fold greater than those excited in the near-infrared and visible spectral regions. Deep UV resonance Raman spectroscopy enables detection of explosives at parts-per-billion (ppb) concentrations and may prove useful for stand-off spectroscopic detection of explosives.

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We report the observation of extreme UV lasing at 41.81 nm on the 4d 9 5d 1 S 0-4d 9 5p 1 P 1 transition in Xe IX, as proposed by Lemoff et al. [Opt. Lett. 19, 569 (1994)]. A 10-Hz circularly polarized 800-nm laser pulse with an energy of 70 mJ and a duration of 40 fs is longitudinally focused to a peak intensity of .3 3 10 16 Wcm 2 over a length of 8.4 nm in a differentially pumped cell containing 12 Torr of Xe gas. Laser amplification was observed with an estimated gain coefficient of 13 cm-1 and a total gain of exp(11).

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