The Features of the Frequency-Modulation Method When Studying the Shapes of the Spectral Lines of Nonlinear Absorption

We briefly consider the method of the frequency (phase) modulation and signal detection at the second harmonic of the modulation frequency for recording and analyzing the spectral-line shapes. The precision sub-Doppler spectrometer in the millimeter- and submillimeter-wave ranges, which operated in the regime of nonlinear saturation of the spectral transitions in a standing wave (the Lamb-dip method), was used during the measurements. The influence of the saturation degree on the value and shape of the recorded frequency-modulated signals in the quadrature channels during the synchronous detection is demonstrated. Variation in the relationships among the signals determined by dispersion and absorption was observed. The necessity of allowance for the influence of the group-velocity dispersion and coherent effects on the shape of the recorded spectral lines is experimentally shown.