Proposal for the generation of continuous-wave vacuum ultraviolet laser light for Th-229 isomer precision spectroscopy

We propose to generate continuous-wave vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) laser light at 148.4 nm using four-wave mixing in cadmium vapor for precision spectroscopy of the Th-229 isomer transition. Due to the large transition matrix elements of cadmium, the readily accessible wavelengths for the incident laser beams, and the high coherence of the four-wave mixing process, over 30 μW of VUV power can be generated with a narrow linewidth. This development paves the way for coherently driving the Th-229 isomer transition and developing the nuclear optical clock.