Design and optimization of off-beam NO2 QEPAS sensor by use of E-MOCAM with a high power blue laser diode

Yin Xu-Kun; Zheng Hua-Dan; Dong Lei; Wu Hong-Peng; Liu Xiao-Li; Ma Wei-Guang; Zhang Lei; Yin Wang-Bao; Jia Suo-Tang

doi:10.7498/aps.64.130701

Abstract

A highly sensitive NO2 optical sensor has been designed by means of combining the electrical modulation cancellation method (E-MOCAM) and off-beam quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS). A high power multimode blue laser diode emitting at around 450 nm is used as the excitation light source of the photoacoustic signal. In the E-MOCAM, the balance signal is generated from a dual-channel function generator and introduced to the pin of the quartz tuning fork (QTF) to balance out the huge background noise. The principle of the E-MOCAM is explained in detail from the perspective of equivalent circuit of QTF, and the background noise of the high power LD-based QEPAS sensor is analyzed. Results show that stray light noises coming from the LD beam and blocked by the resonator and the photoacoustic cell are dominated in all the noises. Gas flow noise of QEPAS sensor is also estimated, and excessive noise could be introduced by the gas flow even at a rate below 200 sccm. The gas flow noise is measured at different gas flow rate, from 60 to 200 sccm. Compared with the QEPAS sensor based on wavelength modulation, the sensor based on amplitude modulation, especially in the case of high power light source, is more sensitive to the gas flow. The ultimate background noise of the off-beam QEPAS sensor can be reduced by 269 times after the E-MOCAM is applied. The performance of the NO2 QEPAS sensor is evaluated in the NO2/N2 mixtures of different concentrations, ranging from ppb to ppm levels. In the case of the 2.85 ppm NO2 measurement, the SNR of 630 is achieved. A linear fitting is implemented to evaluate the response of the sensor, resulting in an R square value of 0.999. Allan plot is used to investigate the long term stability of the sensor. The original background noise produced from the off-beam QEPAS configuration is less than that from the on-beam QEPAS configuration, thus the combination of off-beam QEPAS configuration and E-MOCAM shows a better stability. A detection limit of 0.34 ppb (1, 46 s integration time) for NO2 in N2 at atmospheric pressure can be achieved, which corresponds to a normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient of 2.210-8 cm-1W/Hz1/2.

Keywords:

Authors and contacts

1.
State Key Laboratory of Quantum Optics and Quantum Optic Devices, Institute of Laser Spectroscopy, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
Funds: Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61275213, 61108030, 61475093, 61127017, 61378047, 61178009, 61205216), the Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2012CB921603), the National Key Technology RD Program (Grant No. 2013BAC14B01), the Shanxi Natural Science Foundation, China (Grant Nos. 2013021004-1, 2012021022-1), the Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (Grant Nos. 2013-011, 2013-01), and the Program for the Outstanding Innovative Teams of Higher Learning Institutions of Shanxi.

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Cited By

[1]	Cao Y C, Jin W, Ho H L 2012 Sens. Actuators, B 174 24
[2]	Shao J, Lathdavong L, Thavixay P, Axner O 2007 J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 24 2294
[3]	Zhang Z Q, Ma B S, Jia S H 2013 Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) IEEE International Symposium 2013, p230
[4]	Kosterev A A, Bakhirkin Y A, Curl R F, Tittel F K 2002 Opt. Lett. 27 1902
[5]	Ma Y F, Lewicki R, Razeghi M, Tittel F K 2013 Opt. Express 21 1008
[6]	Liu Y Y, Dong L, Wu H P, Zheng H D, Ma W G, Zhang L, Yin W B, Jia S T 2013 Acta Phys. Sin. 62 220701 (in Chinese) [刘妍研, 董磊, 武红鹏, 郑华丹, 马维光, 张雷, 尹王保, 贾锁堂 2013 物理学报 62 220701]
[7]	Wu H P, Dong L, Zheng H D, Liu Y Y, Ma W G, Zhang L, Wang W Y, Zhu Q K, Yin W B, Jia S T 2013 Acta Phys. Sin. 62 070701 (in Chinese) [武红鹏, 董磊, 郑华丹, 刘研研, 马维光, 张雷, 王五一, 朱庆科, 尹王保, 贾锁堂 2013 物理学报 62 070701]
[8]	Gong P, Xie L, Qi X Q, Wang R, Wang H, Chang M C, Yang H X, Sun F, Li G P 2015 Chin. Phys. B 24 014206
[9]	Dong L, Kosterev A A, Thomazy D, Tittel F K 2010 Appl. Phys. B 100 627
[10]	Liu K, Guo X Y, Yi H M, Chen W D, Zhang W J, Gao X M 2009 Opt. Lett. 34 1594
[11]	Wu H P, Dong L, Ren W, Yin W B, Ma W G, Zhang L, Jia S T, Tittel F K 2015 Sens. Actuators, B 206 364
[12]	Yi H M, Chen W D, Sun S W, Liu K, Tan T, Gao X M 2012 Opt. Express 20 9187
[13]	Böttger S, Köhring M, Willer U, Schade W 2013 Appl. Phys. B 113 227
[14]	Yi H M, Liu K, Chen W D, Tan T, Wang L, Gao X M 2011 Opt. Lett. 36 481
[15]	Spagnolo V, Dong L, Kosterev A A, Tittel F K 2012 Opt. Express 20 3401
[16]	Spagnolo V, Dong L, Kosterev A A, Thomazy D, Doty J H, Tittel F K 2011 Opt. Lett. 36 460
[17]	Spagnolo V, Dong L, Kosterev A A, Thomazy D, Doty J H, Tittel F K 2011 Appl. Phys. B 103 735
[18]	Zheng H D, Dong L, Yin X K, Liu X L, Wu H P, Zhang L, Ma W G, Yin W B, Jia S T 2015 Sens. Actuators, B 208 173
[19]	Kosterev A A, Tittel F K, Serebryakov D V, Malinovsky A L, Morozov I V 2005 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 76 043105
[20]	Fritz A, Pitchon V 1997 Appl. Catal. B 13 1
[21]	Liu K, Yi H M, Kosterev A A, Chen W D, Dong L, Wang L, Tan T, Zhang W J, Tittel F K, Gao X M 2010 Rev. Sci. Instrum 81 103103
[22]	Dong L, Wright J, Peters B, Ferguson B A, Tittel F K, McWhorter S 2012 Appl. Phys. B 107 459
[23]	Wysocki G, Kosterev A A, Tittel F K 2006 Appl. Phys. B 85 301

Catalog

Vol. 64, Issue 13 - 2015-07-05

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