Molecular Beam Study of Multiphoton Dissociation of SF6

Crossed molecular and CO/sub 2/ laser beams were used to study collisionless multiphoton dissociation of SF/sub 6/. Dissociation products were found to be SF/sub 5/ and F. Angular and velocity distributions of the SF/sub 5/ fragment were measured. The results indicate that the average excess energy absorbed by an SF/sub 6/ molecule beyond the dissociation limit was definitely less than 8000 cm/sup -1/ and the activation energy for dissociation was less than 70 cm/sup -1/. (AIP)