Real-time N2O gas detection system for agricultural production using a 4.6-µm-band laser source based on a periodically poled LiNbO3 ridge waveguide.
This article describes a gas monitoring system for detecting nitrous oxide (N2O) gas using a compact mid-infrared laser source based on difference-frequency generation in a quasi-phase-matched LiNbO3 waveguide. We obtained a stable output power of 0.62 mW from a 4.6-μm-band continuous-wave laser source operating at room temperature. This laser source enabled us to detect atmospheric N2O gas at a concentration as low as 35 parts per billion. Using this laser source, we constructed a new real-time in-situ monitoring system for detecting N2O gas emitted from potted plants. A few weeks of monitoring with the developed detection system revealed a strong relationship between nitrogen fertilization and N2O emission. This system is promising for the in-situ long-term monitoring of N2O in agricultural production, and it is also applicable to the detection of other greenhouse gases.
NTT Photonics Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Pref. 243-0198, Japan. tokura.akio@lab.ntt.co.jp
Akio
A
Tokura
Masaki
M
Asobe
Koji
K
Enbutsu
Toshihiro
T
Yoshihara
Shin-nosuke
SN
Hashida
Hirokazu
H
Takenouchi
D000383:Agriculture / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003199:Computer Systems; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis; D007834:Lasers; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000032:analysis*; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014159:Transducers
D005740:Gases; D009569:Nitric Oxide