Investigation of the operation of a ring laser with a methane cell

An investigation was made of the operation of a ring laser (lambda=3.39 $mu$) with a methane cell in the case when the frequencies of the opposite waves were split in the presence of a power peak. A method was developed for obtaining a smooth profile of the peak, locking of the half-sum of the wave frequencies to the average frequency of the absorption line of methane was confirmed, and automatic frequency stabilization was achieved.