Photon induced electron attachment

Measurements were performed to determine the feasibility of infrared excitation of the molecules Nitrogen Fluoride, Carbon Fluoride, Carbon Dioxide, Hydrogen Chloride, and Hydrogen Cyanide to an excited state with an enhanced electron attachment rate. The former three molecules were optical pumped by a CO2 laser but no enhanced attachment was observed at any of the laser lines available. The HCl v = zero to two transition was directly pumped by optically mixing of 1.06 micron radiation from a Neodymium : YAG laser with the output of a Yttrium Aluminum Garnet pumped dye laser at .660 microns. Little or no enhanced attachment was observed suggesting a dissociative electron attachment cross section of less than 10 to the -15th power sq. cm. for HCl(v=2). A similar technique was used to excite HCN(v=2) but no enhanced electron attachment was observed.