Use of a tunable compressed-hydrogen Raman laser in isotope separation

The possibility of using a tunable far-infrared Raman laser in isotope separation by selective collisionless dissociation in a strong infrared field was demonstrated in the case of the SF₆ molecule. The laser radiation was tuned to the combination vibration ν₄ + ν₅ = 1138 cm^–1 of the ³²SF₆ molecule. After 60 pulses with a total energy of 25 J the residual gas became enriched with the ³⁴S isotope by a factor of 1.06. The reaction products of the dissociated SF₆ molecules were enriched with the ³²S isotope by a factor of 1.25.