Compact Highly Sensitive Multi-species Airborne Mid-IR Spectrometer

Journal Article · Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Applied Physics. B, Lasers and Optics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-015-6038-8· OSTI ID:1244812

Richter, Dirk; Weibring, P.; Walega, J.; Fried, Alan; Spuler, Scott M.; Taubman, Matthew S.

We report on the development and airborne field deployment of a mid-IR laser based spectrometer. The instrument was configured for the simultaneous in-situ detection of formaldehyde (CH2O) and ethane (C2H6). Numerous mechanical, optical, electronic, and software improvements over a previous instrument design resulted in reliable highly sensitive airborne operation with long stability times yielding 90% airborne measurement coverage during the recent air quality study over the Colorado front range, FRAPPÉ 2014. Airborne detection sensitivities of ~ 15 pptv (C2H6) and ~40 pptv (CH2O) were generally obtained for 1 s of averaging for simultaneous detection.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1244812
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-106448; NN2001000
• Journal Information: Applied Physics. B, Lasers and Optics, Vol. 119, Issue 1; ISSN 0946-2171
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English