Effective normalization method for sample-position-dependence effect in photoacoustic spectrometry

Sample position dependence effect in photoacoustic (PA) spectrometry has been reported by several scientists. This effect must be taken into account in a PA application that requires a quantitative theoretical treatment. In this work, we experimentally investigated PA signal magnitude varying with sample-to-window distance in an MTEC Model 300 Photoacoustic Detector, which has a fixed empty (gas) volume in addition to the sample-to-window-distance-dependent gas volume. An operative method was introduced to obtain the coefficient, which considered the sample-to-window distance and the additional gas volume. With this coefficient, the one-dimensional PA model, developed by Aamodt, Murphy, and Parker, can be employed to quantitatively process PA experimental data, no matter what the sample-to-window distance is. Quantitative measurements of thermal effusivities of two samples were performed to prove this effective normalization method.