Thermal lens spectroscopy in cryogenic solutions: Analysis and comparison of intensities in CH4-N2 and CH4-Ar liquid...

The C-H (Delta upsilon = 6) absorption spectrum of methane has been obtained in liquid nitrogen and argon solutions using thermal lens spectroscopy. Mathematical models for continuous and periodic excitation were used to describe the concentration dependence of thermal lens intensities. Better fitting of the experimental results was accomplished by taking into account the periodic nature of the excitation. Comparison of thermal lens intensities in nitrogen and argon allowed calculation of relative enhancement factors. In dilute solutions, the intensity in liquid nitrogen was 1.39 +/- 0.08 times higher than that in argon. The literature estimation of this ratio is 1.49 +/- 0.61. In contrast to the estimated value, our result confidently shows actual variation in enhancement factors. This article not only shows the applicability of thermal lensing to cryosamples but also demonstrates that accurate measurements at low temperature are possible.