  The design and performance of the first vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) laser-based
angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) system are described. The VUV laser with a
photon energy of 6.994 eV and bandwidth of 0.26 meV is achieved from the second
harmonic generation using a novel non-linear optical crystal KBe2BO3F2 (KBBF).
The new VUV laser-based ARPES system exhibits superior performance, including
super-high energy resolution better than 1 meV, high momentum resolution,
super-high photon flux and much enhanced bulk sensitivity, which are
demonstrated from measurements on a typical Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 high temperature
superconductor. Issues and further development related to the VUV laser-based
photoemission technique are discussed.
