Coincidence in the two-photon spectra of Li and Li2 at 735 nm

A coincidence between the 22S1/2-32S1/2 two-photon transition in the atomic spectrum of 6Li and the X 1Σ+g→ E 1Σ+g two-photon ro-vibrational series of 7Li2 was observed near 735 nm in a heat pipe oven using a tunable laser and thermionic diode detection scheme. The molecular transition obscures one component of the 6Li atomic transition. Selective detection of the atomic transition was obtained by adding an intensity-modulated laser that drives atoms from the 3S to 16P state. The coincident molecular transition and four nearby molecular lines were identified using previously determined Dunham coefficients