title: Mid-infrared gas absorption sensor based on a broadband external cavity quantum cascade laser.
abstract: We developed a laser absorption sensor based on a pulsed, broadband tunable external cavity quantum cascade laser (ECQCL) centered at 1285 cm-1. Unlike traditional infrared spectroscopy system, a quartz crystal tuning fork (QCTF) as a light detector was used for laser signal detection. Fast Fourier transform was applied to extract vibration intensity information of QCTF. The sensor system is successfully tested on nitrous oxide (N2O) spectroscopy measurements and compared with a standard infrared detector. The wide wavelength tunability of ECQCL will allow us to access the fundamental vibrational bands of many chemical agents, which are well-suited for trace explosive, chemical warfare agent, and toxic industrial chemical detection and spectroscopic analysis.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Opto-Electronic Information Acquisition and Manipulation of Ministry of Education, Anhui University, 23061 Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Opto-Electronic Information Acquisition and Manipulation of Ministry of Education, Anhui University, 23061 Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Opto-Electronic Information Acquisition and Manipulation of Ministry of Education, Anhui University, 23061 Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Ningwu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Deep Sea Center, State Oceanic Administration, 266237 Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Hongliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Opto-Electronic Information Acquisition and Manipulation of Ministry of Education, Anhui University, 23061 Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Benli
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Opto-Electronic Information Acquisition and Manipulation of Ministry of Education, Anhui University, 23061 Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Jingsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D007834:Lasers; D009609:Nitrous Oxide / Q000032:analysis*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D009609:Nitrous Oxide