Formation of carbon in iodine photodissociation lasers

It has been established that free carbon is formed during the operation of an iodine photodissociation laser and this has a negative influence on its output power when the laser cell is used repeatedly. It is shown that one mechanism of the formation of carbon involves interaction between "hot" CF₂ radicals formed as a result of secondary radical processes. The interaction is accompanied by the release of appreciable energy.