Precision Frequency Comb Spectroscopy in the 8 μm Range

We use Fourier transform spectroscopy based on a compact difference frequency generation comb source emitting around 8 μm to record broadband high-resolution spectra of molecules relevant to astrophysics and environmental monitoring. From the spectra we obtain line lists with sub-MHz accuracy, an order of magnitude better than previously available, and use them to refine theoretical models of these molecules. Here we report results for formaldehyde, for which the 8 μm range is missing in HITRAN.