15min:

K. TERESZCHUK, I. GORDON AND P. F. BERNATH, Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2L 3G1.

Our group has recently investigated the shapeE² -shapeX^{2 +} band system of CaH/D, while searching for the elusive double minima electronic states of the shapeD^{2 +}-shapeX^{2 +} system. Emission spectra of CaH and CaD, in the visible region, have been obtained by means of a new discharge-furnace source. Calcium metal was placed into an evacuated, alumina tube and heated to a temperature of 600 ^oC in a tube furnace. A mixture of argon and hydrogen gas was allowed to flow through the tube and was then excited by a DC electrical discharge. The spectra were recorded using a photomultiplier tube with our Bruker IFS 120 HR spectrometer. We will report improved values for the vibrational and rotational constants of CaH/D.