Observation of saturated dispersion resonances of methane in a two-mode Cr2+ : ZnSe/CH4 laser

Solid-state cw Cr2+ : ZnSe laser has been used for Doppler-free spectroscopy of lines of the vibrational — rotational v1 + v4 band of methane. Saturated-dispersion resonances on the components of the R(2) line near λ = 2.36 mm are revealed. The parameters of the saturated-dispersion resonance obtained upon cooling intracavity methane cell to a temperature of 77 K confirmed good prospects of developing an optical master oscillator with a high (10-15 - 10-16) short-term frequency stability based on a Cr2+ : ZnSe/CH4 laser.