A new deconvolution technique in batch isotope separation by lasers

A new procedure has been proposed to investigate the effect of irradiation geometry and extract unbiased data from focused beam experiments in laser-induced photolysis and isotope separation. The model proposed here is shown to be advantageous over previous models experimentally and theoretically. The accuracy of this model was verified by comparing the parallel beam results and deconvoluted focused beam results using photolysis of CF3Cl with O2 added. As a second step, the effectiveness of this method was tested for a binary system (CTF3/CHF3). By comparing the results with lenses of different focal length, the effect of focusing on selectivity was mathematically well described for two extreme cases: (1) tight focusing sufficient to produce cores with complete dissociation by one pulse near the focal spot for CTF3 and CHF3, and (2) mild focusing without such cores. The advantage of performing the experiments with tightly-focused beam geometry before deconvolution experiments was also shown. (author)