Thin films of bismuth provide a holographic recording medium that requires no development and is sensitive into the infrared. At a spatial frequency of 1730 lines/mm the diffraction efficiency is 5% for an exposure of 50 mJ/cm2at 1.06 &mgr;m. Interference holograms using a diffusive beam splitter for a picosecond Nd:YAG laser show sufficiently high resolution for plasma holography applications.