Energy dependence of SF6 dissociation by pulsed CO2 laser radiation

The fractional dissociation,³²Γ, of ³²SF₆ by the output of a pulsed TEA CO₂ laser has been found to depend upon Φ, the total integrated laser intensity, as ³²Γ ∞ Φ^m for both the P(20) and P(16) laser lines, where m ≈ 3 in the range 2 < Φ < 7.2 J/cm² and increases from 3 to ≈ 4 as Φ is reduced from 2 to 0.9 J/cm².