LASER-INDUCED REACTION - A TOOL TO ANALYZE LASER-INDUCED REACTIONS WITH SOLID-PHASE PARTICIPATION

Several experiments have shown that inorganic salts may be decomposed to oxides by irradiating them with a continuous-wave CO2 laser. The pr ocess is characterized by an extremely high heating rate which develop s within the impact region of the laser beam with the substance. For c omparison, salts were also decomposed under controlled heating conditi ons. Knowledge of the intermediate steps stresses the importance of th e positive and negative feedback mechanisms which control the laser-in duced reactions. The present paper reviews results obtained by us for more complete descriptions of laser-induced reactions.