Multispecies transmitter for DIAL sensing of atmospheric water vapour, methane and carbon dioxide in the 2 μm region

Integrated-path differential absorption lidar (IPDIAL) is an attractive technique to monitor greenhouse gases from space. For that purpose, suitable absorption lines have been identified as good candidates around 2.05 μm for CO2, 2.29 μm for CH4, and 2.06 μm for H2O. In this context, we have developed a high energy transmitter around 2 μm based on frequency conversion in a nested cavity doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator (NesCOPO) followed by high energy parametric amplification. This master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) architecture enables the generation of tunable single-frequency high energy nanosecond pulses (tens of mJ) suitable for atmospheric DIAL applications. Moreover, taking advantage of the wide spectral coverage capability of the NesCOPO, we demonstrate the potential for this single emitter to address the aforementioned spectral lines, without the use of additional seeding devices. The emitter provides energies up to 20 mJ for the signal waves in the vicinity of CO2 and H2O lines, and 16 mJ at 2290 nm for the CH4 line. By implementing a control loop based on a wavemeter frequency measurement, the signal fluctuations can be maintained below 1 MHz rms for 10 s averaging time. Finally, from optical heterodyne analysis of the beat note between our emitter and a stabilized laser diode, the optical parametric source linewidth was estimated to be better than 60 MHz (Full width at half maximum).