Tunable submillimeter sources applied to the excited state rotational spectroscopy and kinetics of CH3F

Tunable submillimeter radiation, generated and detected using optically pumped lasers and Schottky diode mixers, has been used in an infrared-submillimeter double resonance investigation of CH3F. This technique permits the direct observation of the molecular rotational spectra and kinetics of excited vibrational states and is particularly important for those molecules which are candidates for optically pumped submillimeter lasers.