Absolute cross sections for simultaneous ionization and excitation of N2O by electron impact

Details are given of a crossed-beam technique for the examination of molecular spectra. Using this technique cross sections for the excitation of the B 2 σ state of N 2 O + by electron impact on N 2 O have been measured. The maximum cross section of the v = 0 level is 26.1 × 10 -18 cm 2 and the ratio of the effective cross sections of the (0, 0), (0, 1) and (0, 2) bands of the B 2 σ-x 2 II system is 1: 0.52: 0.13.