Investigation of the water vapor emission spectrum in the region 9600–12000 cm−1

To record weak emission spectra, a high-sensitivity diffraction spectrometer, operating in the region 400–1100 nm, has been designed on the basis of a DFS-452 spectrograph and a photodiode reader with a spectral resolution of 0.14 cm^?1. A Multiplaz-2500 plasmatron, generating intense molecular emission spectra in the visible and near-IR regions, served as a source of the water vapor emission spectrum at temperatures above 3000 K. Water vapor emission spectra have been recorded for the first time in the range above 10 000 cm^?1. The analysis of the spectra obtained has shown that the plasmatron emission spectrum also includes the lines of the OH radical.