Isotope separation by multiphoton dissociation of molecules with high-power CO₂laser radiation. III. Investigation of the process for sulfur isotopes and SF₆molecules

Abstract

An experimental investigation was made of isotope separation by multiphoton dissociation of molecules on an industrial scale. The sulfur isotopes 34S and 32S were separated by dissociation of the 32SF6 molecules with CO2 laser radiation. It was shown that pulsed lasers having a high (1 kW) average radiation power can be used for isotope separation. The resultant heating of the gas was negligible and did not influence the parameters of the separation process. A system was built for the enrichment with the sulfur isotope 34S. The yield obtained was sufficient for this process to have practical applications.