OPTICAL SPECTRA OF TRANSITION METAL NITRIDES. ZrN

Abstract

The electronic spectrum of ZrN has been observed and one band system fully analyzed for both $ZrN^{14}$ and $ZrN^{15}$. The transition is $^{2}\Pi_{r} \rightarrow ^{2}\Sigma$ with the two subband heads at 5647.59 and 5835.08. Extensive perturbations have been observed in both these spectra and these will also be discussed. The rotational constants for the ground and excited states of the $Zr^{90}N^{14}$ species are approximately 0.4832 and 0.4798 respectively. The spin orbit coupling constant of the $^{2}\Pi$ is approximately $567 cm^{-1}$. Some other transition metal nitrides have also been observed in emission and their systems will be briefly discussed.