Temperature imaging by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) with a 64-element array sensor

Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) applies optical method to realize fast and non-contact detection. This technology has the advantages of high resolution and high sensibility, and been widely employed in atmosphere environment detection in recent years. This paper mainly introduces how TDLAS is applied to detect the vehicle exhaust, to determine the content of CO, CO2, NO and alkanes etc. Firstly, the principle of TDLAS is Lambert-Beer's law. It is based on the specific spectral fingerprint characteristics of different gases to detect the gas composition. In the same time, the light intensity is attenuated by molecular absorption, which is used to accurately analyze the density of gas. There are two ways to achieve. One is direct-absorption way, whose configuration and signal processing are simple, results have no need to be demarcated. The other is wavelength-modulation way, which has high resolution and low threshold. The selection of absorption spectral line needs not only to adapt the central wavelength of laser and responding wavelength of detector, but also to avoid the crossed spectral line of different gas to improve the precision of detection. Secondly, TDLAS system includes three parts, which are signal generation, signal detection and signal processing. Finally, TDLAS is compared with other spectral detection technologies in the aspect of sensitivity, character of working, applicable kinds of gas, in order to highlight the application scope of each technology.

Most aircrafts is driven by chemic energy which is released in the combustion process. For improving the capability of engine and controlling the running on-time, the processes of fuel physics and chemistry need to be analysis by kinds of high quality sensor. In the research of designing and improving the processes of fuel physics and chemistry, the concentration, temperature and velocity of kinds of gas in the combustor need to be detected and measured. In addition, these engines and research equipments are always in the harsh environment of high temperature, high pressure and high speed. The harsh environment needs the sensor to be high reliability, well repetition, no cross- sensitivity between gases, and the traditional measurement system can't satisfy the metrical requirement well. Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) analytic measurement technology can well satisfy the measurement in the harsh environment, which can support the whole measurement plan and high quality measurement system. Because the TDLAS sensor has the excellence of small bulk, light weight, high reliability and well specifically measurement, the TDLAS measurement technology has wide prospects. Different from most measurements, only a beam of laser can be pass through the measured environment by TDLAS, and the measurement equipment needn't be set in the harsh environment. So, the TDLAS equipment can't be interrupted by the measured equipment. The ability of subsistence in the harsh environment is very valuable, especially in the measurement on the subject of aerospace with environment of high speed, combustion and plasma. This paper focuses on the collecting the articles on the subject of oxygen detection of TDLAS. By analyzing the research and results of the articles, we conclude the central issues, difficulties and results. And we can get some instructive conclusions.

A gas sensing method based on quartz-tuning-fork enhanced photothermal spectroscopy (QEPTS) is reported in this paper. Unlike usually used thermally sensitive elements, a sharply resonant quartz-tuning-fork with the capability of enhanced mechanical resonance was used to amplify the photothermal signal level. Acetylene (C2H2) detection was used to verify the QEPTS sensor performance. The measured results indicate a minimum detection limit (MDL) of 718 ppb and a normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient (NNEA) of 7.63 × 10-9 cm-1W/√Hz. This performance demonstrates that QEPTS can be an ultra-high sensitive technique for gas detection and shows superiority when compared to usually used methods of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) and quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS). Furthermore, when compared to an optical detector, especially a costly mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detector with cryogenic cooling used in TDLAS, a quartz-tuning-fork is much cheap and tiny. Besides, compared to the QEPAS technique, QEPTS is a non-contact measurement technique and therefore can be used for standoff and remote trace gas detection.

A new method of background elimination and baseline correction is proposed, since there are background signal and larger baseline signal in the first harmonic (1f) of the tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). The laser-associated intensity modulation signal, electronic noise, and optical interference fringes of the 1f background are analyzed. Harmonic detection in none absorption spectral region (HDINASR) is used to eliminate the background signal. Then the relationship curve between current and intensity is given in different operating temperatures to design a remaining baseline correction method after eliminating the background. The principle of background signal searching and the LabView software flow chart are also given. The TDLAS experimental system is designed to detect hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas. According to spectral line selection principle, the absorption line -1312.59 nm is selected, whose operating temperature is set at 27.0 ℃ and the background temperature is set at 30.2 ℃. After eliminating the background and correcting the baseline, signal distortion is significantly improved and baseline is corrected. Then it is verified that the method is valid at other operating temperature of the laser (26.7-27.2). And the improvement of HF gas concentration is quantitatively analyzed. It is convenient for the subsequent processing of 1f signal.

An optical method for measuring soot volume fraction, flame temperature, and concentration of combustion products in a diffusion flame based on time-division multiplexed tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy technique is presented in this article. By moving the slot burner with an electric platform, two-dimensional profile of soot volume fraction, flame temperature, and gas concentrations along the flame sheet with 1-mm spatial resolution were obtained simultaneously. The flame temperature and soot volume fraction were simultaneously on-line monitored using one distributed feedback diode laser with a center wavelength at 1397.83 nm. Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy based temperature measurements in the flame were carried out by two-line thermometry of H2O and compared with the thermocouple technique. The attenuation of tunable diode laser intensity caused by soot extinction and gas absorption after transmitting through the diffusion flame was detected. And the soot volume fraction was determined quantitatively with laser extinction based on Rayleigh limit assumption. Two tunable distributed feedback diode lasers with center wavelength at 2001.6 and 2302 nm were used to determine the CO2 concentration and CO concentration, respectively. The experimental results of soot volume fraction, flame temperature, and the mole fraction of combustion products by varying concentrations of CO2 added in the diffusion flame were analyzed.

Simultaneous measurement of 2-dimensional H2O concentration and temperature distribution in premixed methane/air flame using TDLAS-based tomography technology

Modified laser scanning technique in wavelength modulation spectroscopy for advanced TDLAS gas sensing

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) are focused as novel diagnostic techniques for in-situ measurement of water in operating polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Basic principle and practical applications of MRI to visualize water content distribution in polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) are described. It is shown that MRI visualization gives us fundamental understandings on water transport processes involved in PEMFCs. In-situ TDLAS measurement technique is also presented as a diagnostic tool to evaluate variation of water vapor concentration in gas flow channels in PEMFCs. TDLAS measurement in combination with numerical analysis can be used to obtain local current density distribution and local water transfer numbers across the membrane. Recent advances and future prospects on MRI and TDLAS as in-situ diagnostic technique for water transport in operational PEMFCs are summarized.

Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) - including aqueous CO2, carbonic acid, bicarbonate, and carbonate - is often the largest pool of carbon in aquatic systems. Biogeochemical processes result in exchanges of carbon between the various DIC components and may act to move carbon into or out of the DIC pool. The isotopic composition of carbon is a product of both its source and mass-dependent fractionation as carbon changes form through the processes acting on it. Consequently, measurement of the stable carbon isotope composition of DIC is a valuable tool for understanding biogeochemical processes in aquatic systems. However, differences in isotopic composition are small, and separating source contributions requires precise measurement.Measurement of DIC can be done by conversion to CO2 in the presence of a strong acid and quantification of liberated CO2 by gas analysis. To determine isotopic composition of the liberated CO2 (δ13C) historical methods used isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). More recently, tunable diode laser absorption spectrometry (TDLAS) based gas analyzers have been adopted for these measurements but have continued to base methodological considerations on those developed for IRMS. While IRMS and TDLAS can both be used to determine δ13C, there are fundamental differences in the technology, which should be considered during application. In particular, this has meant δ13C - DIC measurements have been unable to take full advantage of TDLAS performance characteristics. Here we describe methodological advancements from integration of a TDLAS (LI-7825 carbon isotope analyzer) with a DIC measurement system (LI-5370A), that include changes to the pneumatic and analytical approach used in the DIC system. Pneumatic modifications allow the TDLAS to operate at an independent flow rate from the DIC system and serve to manipulate the residence time for CO2 along the flow path. We describe use of a non-CO2 free carrier gas, which allows the DIC measurement to take full advantage of analyzer precision and minimize errors intrinsic to δ13C as determined by TDLAS. We present data demonstrating measurement precision over a range of conditions and show that under similar conditions, these methodological changes result in precision exceeding that published previously for TDLAS-DIC measurements.

The H (n = 2) atomic density determination by means of vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) emission spectroscopy of the Lyman-α line in laboratory low pressure plasmas is strongly affected by self-absorption of emitted photons inside the plasma leading to an underestimation of this density. A correction of the densities obtained from VUV emission spectroscopy measurements is performed by using the escape factor method. The corrections applied can reach orders of magnitude even in low pressure plasmas. Assumptions on the spatial distribution of emitting and absorbing particles as well as on the corresponding line profiles have to be made. Consequently, additional measurements are performed, which raises the requirement of a benchmark of the applied correction procedure. In contrast, tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) on the Balmer-α line is a direct measurement of the H (n = 2) density and is thus suitable for a benchmark. For the ICP under consideration, H (n = 2) densities obtained via TDLAS are near 3 × 1015 m−3 whereas uncorrected VUV emission spectroscopy gives values in the range of roughly 1013 m−3 depending on pressure and applied RF power. The calculated escape factors are on the order of 2–8 × 10−3. An excellent agreement with TDLAS is observed by applying them to the results of the VUV emission spectroscopy.

The use of optical circular multipass absorption cells (CMPAC) in an open-path configuration enables the sampling free analysis of cylindrical gas flows with high temporal resolution and only minimal disturbances to the sample gas in the pipe. Combined with their robust unibody design, CMPACs are a good option for many applications in atmospheric research and industrial process monitoring. When deployed in an open-path configuration, the effects of inhomogeneities in the gas temperature and composition have to be evaluated to ensure that the resulting measurement error is acceptable for a given application. Such an evaluation needs to consider the deviations caused by spectroscopic effects, e.g., nonlinear effects of temperature variations on the intensity of the spectral line, as well as the interaction of the temperature and concentration field with the characteristic laser beam pattern of the CMPAC. In this work we demonstrate this novel combined evaluation approach for the CMPAC used as part of the tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) reference hygrometer in PTB's dynH2O setup for the characterization of the dynamic response behavior of hygrometers. For this, we measured spatially resolved, 2D temperature and H2O concentration distributions, and combined them with spatially resolved simulated spectra to evaluate the inhomogeneity effects on the line area of the used H2O spectral line at 7299.43 cm-1. Our results indicate that for dynH2O, the deviations caused by the interaction between large concentration heterogeneities and the characteristic sampling of the beam pattern of the CMPAC are three orders of magnitude larger than deviations caused by small temperature heterogeneity induced spectroscopic effects. We also deduce that the assumption that the "path-integrated" H2O concentration derived with the open-path CMPAC setup represents an accurate H2O area average in the flow section covered by the CMPAC in fact shows significant differences of up to 16% and hence does not hold true when large H2O concentration gradients are present.

We designed a tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) sensor for the online monitoring of CO2 and H2O concentrations. It comprised a small self-design multi-pass cell, home-made laser drive circuits, and a data acquisition circuit. The optical and electrical parts and the gas circuit were integrated into a portable carrying case (height = 134 mm, length = 388 mm, and width = 290 mm). A TDLAS drive module (size: 90 mm × 45 mm) was designed to realize the function of laser current and temperature control with a temperature control accuracy of ±1.4 mK and a current control accuracy of ±0.5 μA, and signal acquisition and demodulation. The weight and power consumption of the TDLAS system were only 5 kg and 10 W, respectively. Distributed feedback lasers (2004 nm and 1392 nm) were employed to target CO2 and H2O absorption lines, respectively. According to Allan analysis, the detection limits of CO2 and H2O were 0.13 ppm and 3.7 ppm at an average time of 18 s and 35 s, respectively. The system response time was approximately 10 s. Sensor performance was verified by measuring atmospheric CO2 and H2O concentrations for 240 h. Experimental results were compared with those obtained using a commercial instrument LI-7500, which uses non-dispersive infrared technology. Measurements of the developed gas analyzer were in good agreement with those of the commercial instrument, and its accuracy was comparable. Therefore, the TDLAS sensor has strong application prospects in atmospheric CO2 and H2O concentration detection and ecological soil flux monitoring.

Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) is a new method to detect trace-gas qualitatively or quantificationally based on the scan characteristic of the diode laser to obtain the absorption spectroscopy in the characteristic absorption region. It needs to combine with a long absorption path in the ambient trace-gas measurements. TDLAS has a significant advantage not only in sensitivity but also in rapidity of response. It has been widely used in many atmospheric trace-gases detection, ground trace-gas detection and gas leakage detection. On-line signal processing is necessary to most trace gas monitor. In this paper, data processing method for retrieval of gas concentration, as well as the wavelength alignment algorithm based on correlation detecting technique is described, realizing the aim of wavelength alignment between the standard signal spectral line and the measurement signal spectrum. So the precision of the retrieving system is improved satisfactorily.

Water vapour plays a crucial role in atmospheric processes. Hence, monitoring the altitude-related variations in water vapour properties is important to decipher atmospheric processes. Direct tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (dTDLAS) measures the concentration and temperature of gas molecules by scanning the rotation-vibration absorption lines using a high-spectral-resolution laser. In this study, we devised an integrated measurement and data processing method (integrative measurement and processing method for hygrometry, IMPMH) to enhance the in-situ airborne measurement capability of dTDLAS. We measured a wide range (240–18,000 ppm) of water vapour concentrations, aiming for atmospheric measurements in a highly water-saturated regime, called the “optically thick condition”. For recovering the full absorption spectra, the “integrative area” was defined and a difference factor D, which is the distance between two spectral regions with width corresponding to the half width of half maximum of the Voigt profile, was used to calculate the area. From the data, the low-bound concentration was measured to be 244 ppm. At D = 1.8, the transition concentration to the “optically thick condition” was measured to be 5,800 ppm. By increasing D from 1.8 to 2.8, the measurable upper-bound concentration increased to 17,993 ppm. IMPMH was applied to the measured data to estimate the final absorber density or water vapour concentration. The estimation was well-fitted with the measured detector signal with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of ∼ 300 of the residual spectrum, promising its applicability to in-situ airborne measurements. To validate IMPMH, the water vapour concentration range was divided into two regimes: (1) optically thick (5,800 < c < 18,000 ppm) and (2) optically thin (c < 5,800 ppm) conditions. Under the optically thick condition, IMPMH was validated by comparing the results between the short and long-path cells. In the optically thin condition, IMPMH was validated through comparison with the general dTDLAS method. Lastly, long-term stability of the dTDLAS system was validated by measuring 10 different concentrations (240–18,000 ppm) for 1000 s by characterising the precision and SNRs of the residual. The results demonstrate that IMPMH significantly enhances the in-situ airborne measurement capability of dTDLAS under both optically thick and thin conditions. Furthermore, requirements for the implementation of IMPMH in airborne measurement were investigated considering four aspects—sampling, low-pressure measurement, accuracy and precision, and multiplex detection. The results were examined with regard to atmospheric implications.

The expressions of the second harmonic (2f) signal are derived on the basis of absorption spectral and lock-in theories. A parametric study indicates that the phase shift between the intensity and wavelength modulation makes a great contribution to the 2f signal. A self-calibration wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) method based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) is applied, combining the advantages of ambient pressure, temperature suppression, and phase-shift influences elimination. Species concentration is retrieved simultaneously from selected 2f signal pairs of measured and reference WMS-2f spectra. The absorption line of acetylene (C2H2) at 1530.36 nm near-infrared is selected to detect C2H2 concentrations in the range of 0–400 ppmv. System sensitivity, detection precision and limit are markedly improved, demonstrating that the self-calibration method has better detecting performance than the conventional WMS.