Multiphoton infrared isotope separation using the MkIII FEL system

Abstract

The dissociation of polyatomic molecules induced by the absorption of multiple, infrared photons has been studied extensively beginning in the mid-1970's using multi-line molecular laser sources and tunable optical parametric oscillators. In 1995, we began a series of experiments to explore the use of the MkIII infrared FEL in studies of the dissociation of formic acid, nitromethane, ethyl chloride and chlorodifluoromethane in the gas phase, including measurements of isotopic selectivity [1–5].