Doppler-limited CW infrared cavity ringdown spectroscopy of the ν1+ν3 OH + CH stretch combination band of jet-cooled methanol

A high resolution cavity ringdown spectrometer (CRDS) has been constructed using a 1.5 μm continuous-wave external-cavity tunable diode laser, a mode-matched near-confocal ringdown cavity, and 2 cm pulsed slit jet. Without signal averaging, the RMS noise in the absorption signal is 1.7 × 10⁻⁹ cm⁻¹. The rotationally resolved overtone spectrum of the OH(ν₁) + CH(ν₃) stretch combination band of methanol between 6510 and 6550 cm⁻¹ has been observed for J^′=0-8 and K^′=0-3 at sub-Doppler resolution. In total, 418 lines are assigned and global fits yield molecular torsion-rotation parameters for the upper state. Four K^′-localized perturbations are analyzed and the pattern of residuals is discussed.