A novel and direct absorption line recovery technique based on tunable diode laser spectroscopy with intensity
modulation is presented. Photoacoustic spectroscopy is applied for high sensitivity, zero background and efficient
acoustic enhancement at a low modulation frequency. A micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) mirror driven by an
electrothermal actuator is used for generating laser intensity modulation (without wavelength modulation) through the
external reflection. The MEMS mirror with 10μm thick structure material layer and 100nm thick gold coating is formed
as a circular mirror of 2mm diameter attached to an electrothermal actuator and is fabricated on a chip that is
wire-bonded and placed on a PCB holder. Low modulation frequency is adopted (since the resonant frequencies of the
photoacoustic gas cell and the electrothermal actuator are different) and intrinsic high signal amplitude characteristics in
low frequency region achieved from measured frequency responses for the MEMS mirror and the gas cell. Based on the
property of photoacoustic spectroscopy and Beer's law that detectable sensitivity is a function of input laser intensity in
the case of constant gas concentration and laser path length, a Keopsys erbium doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) with
opto-communication C band and high output power up to 1W is chosen to increase the laser power. High modulation
depth is achieved through adjusting the MEMS mirror's reflection position and driving voltage. In order to scan through
the target gas absorption line, the temperature swept method is adopted for the tunable distributed feed-back (DFB) diode
laser working at 1535nm that accesses the near-infrared vibration-rotation spectrum of acetylene. The profile of
acetylene P17 absorption line at 1535.39nm is recovered ideally for ~100 parts-per-million (ppm) acetylene balanced by
nitrogen. The experimental signal to noise ratio (SNR) of absorption line recovery for 500mW laser power was ~80 and
hence the detectable sensitivity is of the order of 1ppm.
Fibre laser sources offer interesting possibilities for gas sensors since they can operate over an extended wavelength
range, encompassing the near-IR absorption lines of a number of important gases but a major problem is that overtone
absorption lines of gases in the near-IR are relatively weak. In order to enhance sensitivity, we present here a simple
method of intra-cavity laser absorption spectroscopy (ICLAS) which makes use of the amplified spontaneous emission
(ASE) already present within a fibre laser cavity. The ASE also provides a convenient broad-band source for the
interrogation of several gases within the gain-bandwidth of the fibre laser. The key principle is based on adjusting the
cavity attenuation to select an appropriate inversion level and hence flatten the erbium-fibre gain curve. Under this
condition, the ASE undergoes multiple circulations within the fibre laser cavity, enhancing the effective path-length of a
gas cell placed within the laser cavity. We have experimentally demonstrated the principle of operation with acetylene
gas, using a simple erbium fibre laser system containing a 6cm path-length, fibre coupled, intra-cavity, micro-optic gas
cell. For 1% acetylene gas, we have experimentally observed 16 absorption lines in the 1530nm region and a path length
enhancement of ~60 has been demonstrated, transforming the 6cm micro-optic cell into an effective path length of
~3.5m. Apart from the OSA, all components are inexpensive and the system is very simple to construct and operate.
We present an erbium doped fibre ring laser system to realize single frequency lasing by incorporating a reflector with
~2m of un-pumped polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fibre to act as a saturable absorber. Depending on the
particular requirements, the fibre reflector may be a fibre Bragg grating (FBG), loop mirror (LM) or a reflective coating
on the fibre end. In this way, a transient grating is formed in the saturable absorber which acts as a narrow-band optical
filter, reducing the number of modes over which the laser can operate and hence suppressing mode hopping in the cavity.
Polarization-maintaining (PM) components are used throughout the system, except for the EDFA, and a polarization
controller is used for enhancing stability and to ensure that the state of polarization is properly aligned. With this system
we have observed a long period of stable, narrow line-width and single mode operation, tuneable over 30nm. The
intended application is for gas spectroscopy using wavelength scanning and pump modulation. A Sagnac loop filter
(SLF) can be used to scan the centre wavelength over a gas absorption line while the pump modulation produces an
amplitude modulated signal on the output, suitable for detection by a lock-in (phase-sensitive) amplifier. The method is
useful for the recovery of absorption line-shapes in the near-IR where the overtone absorption lines are weak. Compared
with the use of a traditional DFB laser source, the fibre laser offers the advantages of a much broader tuning range and
recovery of distortion-free line-shapes since wavelength and amplitude modulation may be performed independently.
There has been much research performed in recent years on tunable diode laser spectroscopy for detection of gases such
as methane, carbon dioxide, acetylene, etc., which possess near-IR absorption lines. To attain adequate sensitivity with
weak near-IR lines, wavelength modulation spectroscopy with
phase-sensitive detection is normally employed. However
injection current modulation of diode lasers produces both wavelength and amplitude modulation, with a phase shift
dependent on the modulation frequency. This results in residual amplitude modulation on the output and in distortion of
the harmonic signals derived from the absorption line. These are important issues for calibration and where it is desired
to accurately recover the line-shape function in order to make simultaneous measurements of gas concentration, pressure
or temperature in industrial applications. Here we discuss how calibration-free measurements may be obtained with
diode lasers and explore the implications for fibre laser based systems for spectroscopy which conventionally employ
thermal or piezoelectric tuning of the wavelength. In particular, we consider modulation techniques which may be
applied to ring fibre lasers which use un-pumped erbium fibre as a saturable absorber to prevent mode-hopping or to
DFB fibre lasers which use a short cavity with a Bragg grating to ensure single mode operation.
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