Open AccessDual-frequency modulation quartz crystal tuning fork–enhanced laser spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Linguang Xu,
Ningwu Liu,
Sheng Zhou,
Lei Zhang,
Benli Yu,
H. Fischer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.386205
Subject(s) - materials science , optics , laser , tuning fork , detector , photoacoustic spectroscopy , lock in amplifier , semiconductor laser theory , tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy , optoelectronics , spectroscopy , diode , tunable laser , amplifier , physics , vibration , cmos , quantum mechanics
An innovative trace gas-sensing technique utilizing a single quartz crystal tuning fork (QCTF) based on a photoelectric detector and dual-frequency modulation technique was demonstrated for the first time for simultaneous multi-species detection. Instead of traditional semiconductor detectors and lock-in amplifier, we utilized the piezoelectric effect and resonant effect of the QCTF to measure the light intensity. A fast signal analysis method based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm is proposed for overlapping signal extraction. To explore the capabilities of this technique, a gas-sensing system based on two lasers having center emission wavelength of 1.653 µm (a DFB laser diode in the near-IR) and 7.66 µm (an EC QCL in the mid-IR) is successfully demonstrated for simultaneous CH 4 spectroscopy measurements. The results indicate a normalized noise equivalent absorption (NNEA) coefficients of 1.33×10 -9 cm -1 W·Hz -1/2 at 1.653 µm and 2.20×10 -10 cm -1 W·Hz -1/2 at 7.66 µm, were achieved. This proposed sensor architecture has the advantages of easier optical alignment, lower cost, and a compactness compared to the design of a conventional TDLAS sensor using multiple semiconductor detectors for laser signal collection. The proposed technique can also be expanded to common QEPAS technique with multi-frequency modulation for multiple species detection simultaneously.