Dr. R. Claude Woods is supported by a grant from the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to study the geometrical and electronic structures of molecular ions using microwave spectroscopy. Many of the species to be studied are of astronomical interest since they occur in the interstellar medium. Existing and newly developed microwave spectroscopic techniques will be used to study structures of ions which occur in plasmas of glow discharges, in RF discharges, and in magnetically confined afterglow systems. A new afterglow apparatus will be constructed which should be quite versatile for studies of a large variety of negative ions, cluster ions, and in some cases free radicals. Supporting research in the area of ab initio molecular orbital theory, mass spectrometry, radioastronomy, and other plasma diagnostic techniques will accompany this research program.
