HIGH RESOLUTION LASER SPECTROSCOPY OF HAFNIUM MONOFLUORIDE.

$^{a}$R. S. Ram, A. G. Adam, A. Tsouli, J. Levin and P. F. Bernath, J. Mol. Spectrosc. 202, 116(2000).Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, University of New BrunswickHigh resolution laser spectra of HfF have been acquired in the visible region of the spectrum. The molecules were produced via laser ablation of a hafnium target rod, followed by reaction with $SF_{6}$ in a pulsed supersonic jet. Several electronic transitions have been observed and analysed between 17,000 and $23,000 cm^{-1}$, all yielding an $\Omega^{\prime\prime}=3/2$ ground state consistent with the $^{2} \Delta_{3/2}$ ground state of $HfCl^{a}$. Curiously, two electronic transitions at $19,707 cm^{-1}$ and $19,977 cm^{-1}$, which have both been assigned as $[\Omega^{\prime}=1/2]-X[\Omega^{\prime\prime}=3/2]$, exhibit $^{2}\Sigma-^{2}\Pi$ structure. Work on this molecule is continuing and the results will be discussed