Microwave absorption of oxygen measured with a Fabry-Perot spectrometer

A Fabry-Perot interferometer in the semiconfocal configuration has been used as a microwave spectrometer by the method of Q-reduction. The Q can be determined with conventional laboratory equipment to within 2% accuracy, corresponding to 0.3 dB/km at 58.82 GHz. Absolute of pure oxygen and dry air at fixed frequencies has been measured as a function of pressure from 0 to 1 atm at room temperature. The measured absorption of dry air can be explained if the overlap of the oxygen lines is properly taken into account.