title: Pressure broadening of H(2)O absorption lines in the 1.3 microm region measured by continuous wave-cavity ring-down spectroscopy: application in the trace detection of water vapor in N(2), SiH(4), CF(4), and PH(3).
abstract: A continuous wave cavity ring-down (cw-CRD) spectrometer has been developed for the measurement of trace levels of water vapor by absorption spectroscopy at wavelengths in the vicinity of 1358 nm and 1392 nm. The speed of data acquisition and selectivity make cavity ringdown spectroscopy potentially more useful than current techniques for measurement of trace water in process gases and vacuum environments used for semiconductor manufacture where water vapor contamination has a detrimental effect on the final product. The pressure broadening coefficients (gamma) for bath gases N(2), air, and Ar and semiconductor process gases SiH(4), PH(3), and CF(4) were determined for a range of absorption lines in the 2nu(1) and nu(1) + nu(3) bands of H(2)O. For the transitions investigated, the concentration of water vapor in the sample gas varied from 1.7 x 10(12) to 2.9 x 10(15) molecule cm(-3) in N(2) at a total pressure of <10 mbar and was mixed with the bath gas of increasing pressure up to approximately 200 mbar. The values of gamma quantify the reduction in peak absorption cross-sections with bath gas pressure and, thus, their effects on the detection limit of water vapor. For a CRD spectrometer with a ring-down time of tau = 12.0 mus measured with a precision of 0.6%, detection limits for the measurement of water vapor in 1 atm N(2) and of CF(4) were estimated to be 18 and 14 ppbv, respectively. Competing absorption by SiH(4) and PH(3) in the 1.3 mum wavelength region results in respective detection limits for water vapor of 98 and 319 ppbv (relative to 1 atm) in 0.2 atm SiH(4) and 0.37 atm PH(3).
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol, BS8 1TS, UK.
authors.forename: Phyllis A Y
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Fiadzomor
authors.forename: Derek M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Anthony M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Keen
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Orr-Ewing