Development of a tunable diode laser instrument for airborne in-situ measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrous oxide (N2O)

James W. Hannigan; M. T. Coffey; William G. Mankin

doi:10.1117/12.366443

25 October 1999 Development of a tunable diode laser instrument for airborne in-situ measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrous oxide (N₂O)

James W. Hannigan, M. T. Coffey, William G. Mankin

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3758, Application of Tunable Diode and Other Infrared Sources for Atmospheric Studies and Industrial Processing Monitoring II; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.366443
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1999, Denver, CO, United States

Abstract

We have developed an instrument to fly on the NASA WB-57F aircraft which measures simultaneously two atmospheric tracers, CO and N₂O. These gases have lifetimes which make them appropriate dynamical tracers in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. To measure these species for studies of current interest we need a continuous record with a sensitivity of about 1 ppbv, and an absolute accuracy of about 1 percent. To trace the effect of small scale features requires a response time around 1 second. We describe the details of a tunable diode laser-based instrument designed for automatic operation aboard the WB- 57F aircraft at altitudes between the surface and 65,000 feet. A single diode laser, cooled by liquid nitrogen, is used to provide radiation at absorption lines of CO (2190.018 cm^-1) and N₂O (2190.350 cm^-1). Fully reflective optics directs the infrared beam through a long pass cell (36 m path length) of small volume (0.3 l) operated at relatively low pressure (40 mb). The instrument operates autonomously for up to 8 hours. Calibration is achieved by the introduction of standard, calibrated mixtures into the inlet sample flow.

Citation Download Citation

James W. Hannigan, M. T. Coffey, and William G. Mankin "Development of a tunable diode laser instrument for airborne in-situ measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrous oxide (N₂O)", Proc. SPIE 3758, Application of Tunable Diode and Other Infrared Sources for Atmospheric Studies and Industrial Processing Monitoring II, (25 October 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.366443

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