Application of a ring cavity surface emitting quantum cascade laser (RCSE-QCL) on the measurement of H2S in a CH4 matrix for process analytics.

The present work reports on the first application of a ring-cavity-surface-emitting quantum-cascade laser (RCSE-QCL) for sensitive gas measurements. RCSE-QCLs are promising candidates for optical gas-sensing due to their single-mode, mode-hop-free and narrow-band emission characteristics along with their broad spectral coverage. The time resolved down-chirp of the RCSE-QCL in the 1227-1236 cm-1 (8.15-8.09 µm) spectral range was investigated using a step-scan FT-IR spectrometer (Bruker Vertex 80v) with 2 ns time and 0.1 cm-1 spectral resolution. The pulse repetition rate was set between 20 and 200 kHz and the laser device was cooled to 15-17°C. Employing 300 ns pulses a spectrum of ~1.5 cm-1 could be recorded. Under these laser operation conditions and a gas pressure of 1000 mbar a limit of detection (3σ) of 1.5 ppmv for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in nitrogen was achieved using a 100 m Herriott cell and a thermoelectric cooled MCT detector for absorption measurements. Using 3 µs long pulses enabled to further extend the spectral bandwidth to 8.5 cm-1. Based on this increased spectral coverage and employing reduced pressure conditions (50 mbar) multiple peaks of the target analyte H2S as well as methane (CH4) could be examined within one single pulse.

[1]  Manijeh Razeghi,et al.  Extended electrical tuning of quantum cascade lasers with digital concatenated gratings , 2013 .

[2]  Gottfried Strasser,et al.  Time-resolved spectral characterization of ring cavity surface emitting and ridge-type distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers by step-scan FT-IR spectroscopy. , 2014, Optics express.

[3]  A. Becker,et al.  Time-Resolved FTIR Spectroscopy Using a Step-Scan Interferometer , 1989, Other Conferences.

[4]  Werner Schrenk,et al.  Grating duty-cycle induced enhancement of substrate emission from ring cavity quantum cascade lasers , 2012 .

[5]  Fow-Sen Choa,et al.  Room-temperature continuous-wave quantum cascade lasers grown by MOCVD without lateral regrowth , 2006, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[6]  G. Strasser,et al.  Linearly polarized light from substrate emitting ring cavity quantum cascade lasers , 2013 .

[7]  David D. Nelson,et al.  Comparison of cw and pulsed operation with a TE-cooled quantum cascade infrared laser for detection of nitric oxide at 1900 cm-1 , 2006 .

[8]  Bernhard Lendl,et al.  Toward Stand-Off Open-Path Measurements of NO and NO2 in the Sub-Parts Per Million Meter Range Using Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) in the Intra-Pulse Absorption Mode , 2013, Applied spectroscopy.

[9]  A. Wittmann,et al.  Broadband Distributed-Feedback Quantum Cascade Laser Array Operating From 8.0 to 9.8 $\mu$ m , 2009, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[10]  H. Lohninger,et al.  Simultaneous open-path determination of road side mono-nitrogen oxides employing mid-IR laser spectroscopy , 2015 .

[11]  Werner Schrenk,et al.  Grating-coupled surface emitting quantum cascade ring lasers , 2008 .

[12]  R. Tatam,et al.  Optical gas sensing: a review , 2012 .

[13]  J B McManus,et al.  Astigmatic mirror multipass absorption cells for long-path-length spectroscopy. , 1995, Applied optics.

[14]  B. Simozrag,et al.  Monolithic tunable single source in the mid-IR for spectroscopy , 2013, Photonics West - Optoelectronic Materials and Devices.

[15]  Albert Manninen,et al.  Compact multipass optical cell for laser spectroscopy. , 2013, Optics letters.

[16]  Faist,et al.  Mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers for flow injection analysis , 2000, Analytical chemistry.

[17]  Manijeh Razeghi,et al.  High power continuous operation of a widely tunable quantum cascade laser with an integrated amplifier , 2015 .

[18]  Herwig Kogelnik,et al.  Off-Axis Paths in Spherical Mirror Interferometers , 1964 .

[19]  Werner Schrenk,et al.  Low divergence single-mode surface emitting quantum cascade ring lasers , 2008 .

[20]  Gottfried Strasser,et al.  Two-dimensional broadband distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser arrays , 2011 .

[21]  Yves Bidaux,et al.  Extended tuning of mid-ir quantum cascade lasers using integrated resistive heaters. , 2015, Optics express.

[22]  Frank K. Tittel,et al.  Mid-infrared trace-gas sensing with a quasi- continuous-wave Peltier-cooled distributed feedback quantum cascade laser , 2004 .

[23]  G. Strasser,et al.  Ring cavity induced threshold reduction in single-mode surface emitting quantum cascade lasers , 2010 .

[24]  A. Foltynowicz,et al.  Noise-immune cavity-enhanced optical heterodyne molecular spectroscopy: Current status and future potential , 2008 .

[25]  Frank K. Tittel,et al.  Widely tunable mode-hop free external cavity quantum cascade laser for high resolution spectroscopic applications , 2005 .

[26]  Gerald Kinger,et al.  Quasi-simultaneous in-line flue gas monitoring of NO and NO₂ emissions at a caloric power plant employing mid-IR laser spectroscopy. , 2014, Analytical chemistry.

[27]  Werner Schrenk,et al.  Mid-infrared surface transmitting and detecting quantum cascade device for gas-sensing , 2016, Scientific Reports.

[28]  Peng Chuan Grating-Tuned External-Cavity Quantum Cascade Semiconductor Lasers , 2003 .

[29]  J. Röpcke,et al.  Sensitive trace gas detection with cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy using a continuous wave external-cavity quantum cascade laser , 2013 .

[30]  Carlo Sirtori,et al.  Distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers , 1997 .

[31]  Werner Schrenk,et al.  A bi-functional quantum cascade device for same-frequency lasing and detection , 2012 .

[32]  C. Pflugl,et al.  DFB Quantum Cascade Laser Arrays , 2009, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[33]  Yves Bidaux,et al.  Extended and quasi-continuous tuning of quantum cascade lasers using superstructure gratings and integrated heaters , 2015 .

[34]  Zoltán Bozóki,et al.  Photoacoustic system for on-line process monitoring of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentration in natural gas streams , 2006 .

[35]  Passage Maximilien-de-Meuron,et al.  Comparison of cw and pulsed operation with a TE-cooled quantum cascade infrared laser for detection of nitric oxide at 1900 cm −1 , 2006 .

[36]  M. Zahniser,et al.  Dual quantum cascade laser trace gas instrument with astigmatic Herriott cell at high pass number. , 2011, Applied optics.

[37]  B. Lendl,et al.  High performance liquid chromatography with on-line dual quantum cascade laser detection for the determination of carbohydrates, alcohols and organic acids in wine and grape juice , 2010 .

[38]  Weiqi Wang,et al.  High-resolution multi-heterodyne spectroscopy based on Fabry-Perot quantum cascade lasers , 2014 .

[39]  G. Strasser,et al.  On-chip focusing in the mid-infrared: Demonstrated with ring quantum cascade lasers , 2014 .

[40]  Frank K. Tittel,et al.  H2S trace concentration measurements using off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy in the near-infrared , 2008 .

[41]  Timothy J. Johnson,et al.  Applications of Time-Resolved Step-Scan and Rapid-Scan FT-IR Spectroscopy: Dynamics from Ten Seconds to Ten Nanoseconds , 1993 .

[42]  F. Tittel,et al.  Quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy-based sensor system for sulfur dioxide detection using a CW DFB-QCL , 2014 .

[43]  R. A. McClatchey,et al.  AFCRL atmospheric absorption line parameters compilation , 1973 .

[44]  David D. Nelson,et al.  Simultaneous measurements of atmospheric HONO and NO2 via absorption spectroscopy using tunable mid-infrared continuous-wave quantum cascade lasers , 2011 .