Chemical sensing with pulsed QC-DFB lasers operating at 15.6 μm

Kosterev, A. A.; Curl, R. F.; Tittel, F. K.; Rochat, Michel; Beck, Mattias; Hofstetter, Daniel; Faist, Jérôme

doi:10.1007/s00340-002-0963-z

Chemical sensing with pulsed QC-DFB lasers operating at 15.6 μm

Author(s)

Kosterev, A. A.

Curl, R. F.

Tittel, F. K.

Rochat, Michel

Beck, Mattias

Hofstetter, Daniel

Laboratoire temps-fréquence

Faist, Jérôme

Date issued

2002

In

Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics, Springer, 2002/75/2-3/351-357

Abstract

Pulsed thermoelectrically cooled QC-DFB lasers operating at 15.6 μm were characterized for spectroscopic gas sensing applications. A new method for wavelength scanning based on repetition rate modulation was developed. A non-wavelength-selective pyroelectric detector was incorporated in the sensor configuration giving the advantage of room-temperature operation and low cost. Absorption lines of CO<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>O were observed in ambient air, providing information about the concentration of these species.