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Published on: November 11, 2013
Quantum cascade laser based absorption spectroscopy for direct monitoring of atmospheric N2O isotopes
Sheng Zhou1, Ningwu Liu1, Lei Zhang1
1Laser Spectroscopy and Sensing Laboratory, Anhui University, 230601 Hefei, China; Key Laboratory of Opto-Electronic Information Acquisition and Manipulation of Ministry of Education, Anhui University, 230601 Hefei, China.
Abstract:
A compact high-resolution spectroscopic sensor using a thermoelectrically (TE) cooled continuous-wave (CW) room temperature (RT) quantum cascade laser (QCL) operating at 4.6 μm, is employed for simultaneous detection of three main isotopic species (14N15N16O, 15N14N16O and 14N14N16O). To enable a high-precision analysis of N2O isotopic species at ambient mixing ratios, a liquid nitrogen-free preconcentration unit is built to trap and load atmospheric N2O. The absorption spectra of 14N15N16O, 15N14N16O, and 14N14N16O between 2188.6 cm-1 and 2189 cm-1 are measured, and the respective ratios of the rare to the abundant isotopologues abundances are demonstrated. Moreover, spectroscopic parameters of pressure-broadening coefficient for selected absorption lines have been determined, and a good agreement is obtained by comparing with HITRAN database.
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