Laser analytical spectrometry based on optical phase conjugation by degenerate four-wave mixing in a flowing liquid...

Nonlinear laser spectroscopy based on optical phase conjugation by degenerate four-wave mixing in an absorbing liquid analyte solution is reported as a sensitive analytical technique using a relatively low-power continuous-wave argon ion laser as the excitation source. This novel laser method provides excellent detection sensitivity since the analytical signal is a wavefront-reversed replica of the probe beam. Optical signal detection is convenient and efficient since the signal is a visible coherent laser beam. Important characteristics of this nonlinear laser method include cubic dependence of signal on laser power and quadratic dependence of signal on concentration. Excellent sensitivity, small detection volume, and convenient sample introduction offer many potential applications in trace-level condensed-phase analysis of continuously flowing systems. A preliminary detection limit of 2.9 X 10(-18) mol of eosin B in a simple flow cell is reported.