Vacuum UV Spectrometer Laboratory
DiFi Laboratory
Laboratory directed by: Prof. Roberto Boscaino

In this laboratory it is possible to perform optical absorption and luminescence measurement on bulk or film samples of solid systems in the Vacuum UV spectral region (VUV, E>6.5 eV, λ<190 nm). In this spectral range the UV radiation is strongly absorbed by the oxygen present in the air. For this reason the VUV spectrometer works in N₂ flux. This spectrometer allows also to carry out photoluminescence measurements with excitation wavelength in the VUV spectral region.
The laboratory is mainly used to study the VUV optical properties of silica glass. The analysis of VUV optical activity of this material is particularly interesting both because of the presence of several absorption bands due to point defects and because the intrinsic absorption edge of vitreous silica is located in this spectral region. The main technical features of the spectrometer are listed below.

This laboratory is integrated in MeSIAM - Regional Laboratory of CNISM