
At left: 25 W Merchantek CO2 laser with motorized X-Y-Z control. The system is fully computer operated. Software controls laser power, duration, focus, imaging zoom. In addition, individual rasters, lines or spots can be preprogramed into the software. An awesome laser!
At right: The fluorination side of the extraction system. Two Kel-F traps are shown for purifying the BrF5 reagent. To say the least, BrF5 is not a commonly used chemical. Our reagent is most likely 'surplus' from the Manhattan project, that has sat passively in a steel container for over 50 years! To the right of the extraction line is a heating-tape wrapped KBr-filled nickel tube used as a F2 getter.