Miniaturized laser heterodyne radiometer for measurements of CO2 in the atmospheric column

We have developed a low-cost, miniaturized laser heterodyne radiometer for highly sensitive measurements of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the atmospheric column. In this passive design, sunlight that has undergone absorption by CO 2 in the atmosphere is collected and mixed with continuous wave laser lig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics. B, Lasers and optics Lasers and optics, 2014-03, Vol.114 (3), p.385-393
Main Authors: Wilson, E. L., McLinden, M. L., Miller, J. H., Allan, G. R., Ott, L. E., Melroy, H. R., Clarke, G. B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Engineering
Lasers
Optical Devices
Optics
Photonics
Physical Chemistry
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Quantum Optics
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Summary:We have developed a low-cost, miniaturized laser heterodyne radiometer for highly sensitive measurements of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the atmospheric column. In this passive design, sunlight that has undergone absorption by CO 2 in the atmosphere is collected and mixed with continuous wave laser light that is step-scanned across the absorption feature centered at 1,573.6 nm. The resulting radio frequency beat signal is collected as a function of laser wavelength, from which the total column mole fraction can be de-convolved. We are expanding this technique to include methane (CH 4 ) and carbon monoxide (CO), and with minor modifications, this technique can be expanded to include species such as water vapor (H 2 O) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O).
ISSN:0946-2171
1432-0649
DOI:10.1007/s00340-013-5531-1