Abstract

Supercontinuum light sources are attractive for spectroscopic applications in physics, chemistry and biology, owing to their unique combination of high spectral brightness and broadband wavelength coverage. We have developed a broadband multiple species trace gas detection scheme based on cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy (CEAS) and a supercontinuum (SC) light source [1]. The method allows observation of spectra covering 100 nm or more all at once. We have applied this technique for quantitative measurement of NO₂ and NO₃, species of importance in atmospheric chemistry. In the case of NO₃, a sensitivity of three parts per trillion by volume was achieved for a measurement lasting less than 2s.

© 2009 IEEE