INFRARED-LASER PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF SILANE

The infrared photochemistry of silane has been investigated using CO 2 TEA laser excitation. Energy deposition measurements show that only 1.5 photons/molecule are absorbed at a pressure of 1 Torr and a P(20) fluence of 0.8 J/cm2, while at 10 Torr 7.5 photons/molecule are absorbed. The visible luminescence that accompanies the dissociation of silane is due to molecular and atomic hydrogen. The thresholds for both luminescence and dissociation increase sharply as the pressure drops below 5 Torr, indicating that dissociation is a collisional process. Silane d1 and d 2 have been produced by irradiating silane-deuterium mixes. © 1979 American Institute of Physics.