Characterisation of the potential of frequency modulation and optical feedback locking for cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy

A combination of optical feedback self-locking of a continuous-wave distributed feedback diode laser to a V-shaped high finesse cavity, laser phase modulation at a frequency equal to the free spectral range of the V-cavity and detection of the transmitted laser beam at this high modulation frequency is described for possible application in cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy.In order to estimate an absorbance baseline noise of laser intensity and frequency modulated light triplet passed through the V-cavity in open air, a 1.5-cm long optical cell filled by C2H2 at low pressure was placed behind the cavity output mirror. The performance of the setup was evaluated from the experimental bandwidth normalised relative intensity noise on the cavity output and the frequency modulation absorption signals induced by C2H2 absorption in the 1.5-cm cell. From these data we estimate that the noise-equivalent absorption sensitivity of 2.1*10^-11 cm^-1 Hz^-1/2 by a factor of 11.7 above a shot-noise limit can be achieved for C2H2 absorption spectra extracted from the heterodyne beat signals recorded at the transmission maxima intensity peaks of the successive TEM00 resonances.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Appl. Phys. B 28.07.201

Stability of widely tuneable, continuous wave external-cavity quantum cascade laser for absorption spectroscopy

The performance of widely tuneable, continuous wave (cw) external-cavity quantum cascade laser (EC-QCL) has been evaluated for direct absorption spectroscopy measurements of nitric oxide (NO) in the wavenumber range 1872-1958 cm-1 and with a 13.5 cm long optical cell. In order to reduce the absorption measurement errors due to the large variations of laser intensity, normalisation with a reference channel was used. Wavelength stability within the scans was analysed using the Allan plot technique for the reduced wavenumber range of 1892.4-1914.5 cm-1. The Allan variances of the NO absorption peak centres and areas were observed to increase with successive scan averaging for all absorption peaks across the wavelength scan, thus revealing short- and long-term drifts of the cw EC-QCL wavelength between successive scans. As an example application, the cw EC-QCL was used for NO measurements in the exhaust of an atmospheric pressure packed-bed plasma reactor applied to the decomposition of dichloromethane in waste gas streams. Etalon noise was reduced by subtracting a reference spectrum recorded when the plasma was off. The NO limit of detection (SNR = 1) was estimated to be ˜2 ppm at atmospheric pressure in a 20.5 cm long optical cell with a double pass and a single 7 s scan over 1892.4-1914.5 cm-1