Argon mini-arc meets its match: use of a laser-driven plasma source in ultraviolet-detector calibrations

Published

February 12, 2014

Author(s)

Uwe Arp, Robert Vest, Jeanne Houston, Thomas B. Lucatorto

Abstract

The National Institute of Standards and Technology operates two Spectral Comparator Facilities, which are used to provide detector calibrations from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared spectral range. One of them, the Ultraviolet Spectral Comparator Facility has been in operation for more than two decades, providing one of the core calibration services. Recently, the illumination source used in the Ultraviolet Spectral Comparator Facility has been changed from an argon mini-arc source to a laser-driven plasma light source. This new source has higher brightness, a smaller source size, better temporal stability, and much better conversion efficiency than the previously used source. The resulting improvements in the capabilities will be summarized.

Citation

Applied Optics

Volume

53

Issue

6

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.53.001089

Local Download

Keywords

radiometry, ultraviolet

Citation

Arp, U. , Vest, R. , Houston, J. and Lucatorto, T. (2014), Argon mini-arc meets its match: use of a laser-driven plasma source in ultraviolet-detector calibrations, Applied Optics, [online], https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.53.001089, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=914845 (Accessed October 16, 2025)