Doppler-limited spectra of the ν3 vibration of 12CH4 and 13CH4

The tetrahedral splittings in the P and R branches of the ν₃ band of natural methane have been examined with Doppler-limited resolution using a difference-frequency spectrometer. The spectra obtained by this difference-frequency mixer are compared to recent high-resolution grating spectrometer studies of ¹²CH₄ and enriched ¹³CH₄. The resolution, selectivity and precision are improved over the conventional methods. The mixing spectrometer utilizes tunable, narrow linewidth infrared radiation generated in the nonlinear optical crystal, LiNbO₃ as the beat frequency between a CW argon ion and a tunable dye laser. This spectrometer covers the 2.2 to 4.2 μm infrared spectrum with an instrumental resolution of 5 × 10^?4 cm^?1 and continuous scans up to ～1 cm^?1 and with ir power ～1 μW.