Development of fiber-laser-based laser-induced fluorescence for detection of SO{sub 2}

Gaining a quantitative understanding of many aspects of the earth's climate system requires development of new detection methods for key atmospheric species and their incorporation into chemical sensors with high sensitivity, specificity, and time response. The authors have initiated a research program to develop these new chemical-sensing capabilities. The species they have targeted initially are oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, specifically NO and S0{sub 2} These molecules play a central role in the earth's climate, and anthropogenic activities (primarily fossil-fuel combustion) are the dominant source of both species. They are exploring the use of single-mode fiber lasers and amplifiers as compact, lightweight sources of tunable, narrow-bandwidth, deep-UV radiation. They have also begun spectroscopic studies to optimize UV laser-induced fluorescence for detection of S0{sub 2} with high sensitivity and specificity