Velocity-Modulated Infrared Laser Spectroscopy of Molecular Ions: Theν1Band of HCO+

Abstract
The first observation of vibration-rotation transitions in HCO+ is reported. The ν1 absorption band was measured with a color-center laser by modulating the drift velocity of the ion in an ac discharge and detecting the Doppler-shifted absorptions with lock-in techniques. The ν1 frequency is determined as 3088.727±0.003 cm1.