Comb-assisted cavity ring-down spectroscopy of a buffer-gas-cooled molecular beam

Abstract

We demonstrate continuous-wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy of a partially hydrodynamic molecular beam emerging from a buffer-gas-cooling source. Specifically, the (ν₁ + ν₃) vibrational overtone band of acetylene (C₂H₂) around 1.5 μm is accessed using a narrow-linewidth diode laser stabilized against a GPS-disciplined rubidium clock via an optical frequency comb synthesizer. As an example, the absolute frequency of the R(1) component is measured with a fractional accuracy of ∼1 × 10⁻⁹. Our approach represents the first step towards the extension of more sophisticated cavity-enhanced interrogation schemes, including saturated absorption cavity ring-down or two-photon excitation, to buffer-gas-cooled molecular beams.