Far infrared frequency synthesis with stabilized CO<inf>2</inf>lasers: Accurate measurements of the water vapor and methyl alcohol laser frequencies

A far infrared (FIR) frequency synthesis technique using saturated-absorption stabilized CO2lasers and a point-contact diode has been used to measure frequencies of a number of strong CW H2O, D2O, and CH3OH laser lines. The first frequency measurements of the 79-μm H2O, the 73- and 108-μm D2O, and 11 CO2-pumped CW12CH216OH laser lines are reported. This measurement is the first demonstration of the general usefulness of CO2lasers for accurate synthesis of FIR frequencies.