Abstract

Backscatter absorption gas imaging (BAGI) using cw lasers has successfully generated real-time video images of gas plumes for industrial applications such as hazardous leak detection and container integrity testing.^1,2 Systems developed using the BAGI technology have employed cw lasers, which work well for close-range imaging, and for gas-phase species, which happen to absorb the laser's wavelength. The flexibility of the BAGI technique can be increased by using pulsed lasers. High-power pulsed lasers can extend the imaging range, and through efficient parametric processes, can achieve wavelength tunability.

© 1996 Optical Society of America