Measurements of the attenuation in a background gas, He or N2, of the uv radiation produced by a 1.7‐ns 4‐J CO2laser irradiation of a copper target are reported. Photoionization cross sections of 0.4 Mb in He and 0.9 Mb in N2are obtained. The photoionizing radiation is attributed to the 110.6‐A˚M1transition in copper.