Chemical Sensing With Laser Spectroscopy

Laser spectroscopic techniques constitute powerful tools for chemical sensing. Atoms and molecules can be identified and quantified by their specific spectral signatures and the strength of the signals. A wide variety of methods for establishing spectroscopic contact with the species exist: absorption, emission, fluorescence, Raman scattering, acousto-optic, and opto-galvanic phenomena can be employed. Extreme sensitivity and specificity characterise the methods, which can be used for in situ monitoring and in some cases, for remote sensing. Through the special properties of laser radiation it is particularly simple to combine laser spectroscopy with fibre-optical techniques.