Kinetics of the threshold luminescence and bleaching of SF6 and BCI3 gases excited by resonance CO2 laser radiation

An investigation was made of the visible luminescence emitted by SF₆ and BCI₃ gases as result of excitation with CO₂ laser radiation. The influence of the gas pressure, duration of irradiation, and some diluents on the luminescence threshold was studied. Two luminescence stages were observed in the threshold region. Kinetics of the luminescence emitted from BCl₃ agreed with the bleaching kinetics. The luminescence and bleaching of BCl₃ were not related to the heating or dissociation of the gas. The absence of dissociation was confirmed by infrared and mass-spectroscopic analyses of the gas after illumination with laser radiation. The nature of the luminescence threshold was considered.