Emission and ionization induced by focused KrF-laser irradiation of UF_6

Abstract
Strong ultraviolet–visible emission and weak ionization are observed when room-temperature UF6 is irradiated with a focused, 248-nm KrF laser. The emission consists of two temporally distinct decays, the longer-lived of which is quenched by Ar with a rate constant of 1.9 × 108 liters/mol-sec at 25°C.