HCOOH high resolution spectroscopy in the 9.18μm region

We report on higly accurate absolute frequency measurement against a femtosecond frequency comb of 6 saturated absorption lines of formic acid (HCOOH) with an accuracy of 1 kHz. We also report the frequency measurement of 17 other lines with an accuracy of 2 kHz. Those lines are in quasi coincidence with the 9R(36) to 9R(42) CO$_2$ laser emission lines and are probed either by a CO$_2$ or a widely tunable quantum cascade laser phase locked to a master CO$_2$ laser. The relative stability of two HCOOH stabilized lasers is characterized by a relative Allan deviation of 4.5 10$^{-12}$ $\tau^{-1/2}$. They give suitable frequency references for H$_2^+$ Doppler free two-photon spectroscopy.