Frequency tunable infrared radiation from a difference frequency laser system has been used with a long path cell to study the electric quadrupole vibration–rotation spectrum of the deuterium molecule in the 2.8–3.9 μm region. A ratio method as well as frequency modulation were used to detect the weak absorption. Sub-Doppler linewidths due to collisional narrowing were observed with a D2 pressure of 1 atm. The wavelengths of 11 transitions were measured relative to infrared reference lines, and improved molecular constants for the ν = 0 and 1 states of D2 were determined.
