Continuous-wave narrow-linewidth vacuum ultraviolet laser source

Nature

by Qi Xiao

February 13, 2026

The exceptionally low-energy isomeric transition in 229Th at around 148.4 nm (refs. 1–6) offers a unique opportunity for coherent nuclear control and the realization of a nuclear clock7,8. Recent advances, most notably the incorporation of large ensembles of 229Th nuclei in transparent crystals6,9–11 and the development of pulsed vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) lasers12–14, have enabled initial laser spectroscopy of this transition15–17. However, the lack of an intense, narrow-linewidth VUV laser has precluded coherent nuclear manipulation8,18. Here we introduce and report a continuous-wave (CW) laser at 148.4 nm, generated by means of four-wave mixing (FWM)19 in cadmium vapour. The source delivers more than 100 nW of power with a projected linewidth well below 100 Hz and supports broad wavelength tunability. This represents a five-orders-of-magnitude improvement in linewidth over all previous single-frequency lasers below 190 nm (refs. 12–14,20). We develop a spatially resolved homodyne technique that places a stringent upper bound on FWM-induced phase noise, thereby supporting the feasibility of sub-hertz VUV linewidths. Our work addresses the central challenge towards a 229Th-based nuclear clock and establishes a widely tunable, ultranarrow-linewidth laser platform for potential applications across quantum information science21–24, condensed-matter physics25 and high-resolution VUV spectroscopy26. A continuous-wave narrow-linewidth vacuum ultraviolet laser generated using four-wave mixing in cadmium vapour is shown to improve linewidth by five orders of magnitude compared with previous single-frequency lasers below 190 nm.

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Originally published on Nature on 2/13/2026