Photon branching in chain reactions and in chemical lasers initiated by infrared radiation

It is proposed that a CH₃F–D₂–F₂–CO₂–He molecular system should be used to develop purely chemical amplifiers for pulsed infrared laser radiation energy. In these amplifiers, the laser photons participate directly in the chemical process, initiating the formation of active centers of the chain. It is shown that a photon-branching chain reaction may take place in this system, in which the number of photons emitted during propagation of the chain is greater than the number of photons consumed in the formation of an active center. An estimate of the energy gain for a single amplifier state is in the range 10–1000.