Sub-part-per-billion detection of nitric oxide in air using a thermoelectrically cooled mid-infrared quantum cascade laser spectrometer

Non-cryogenic, laser-absorption spectroscopy in the mid-infrared has wide applications for practical detection of trace gases in the atmosphere. We report measurements of nitric oxide in air with a detection limit less than 1 nmole/mole (<1 ppbv) using a thermoelectrically cooled quantum cascade laser operated in pulsed mode at 5.26 μm and coupled to a 210-m path length multiple-pass absorption cell at reduced pressure (50 Torr). The sensitivity of the system is enhanced by operating under pulsing conditions which reduce the laser line width to 0.010 cm^-1 (300 MHz) HWHM, and by normalizing pulse-to-pulse intensity variations with temporal gating on a single HgCdTe detector. The system is demonstrated by detecting nitric oxide in outside air and comparing results to a conventional tunable diode laser spectrometer sampling from a common inlet. A detection precision of 0.12 ppb Hz^-1/2 is achieved with a liquid-nitrogen-cooled detector. This detection precision corresponds to an absorbance precision of 1×10^-5 Hz^-1/2 or an absorbance precision per unit path length of 5×10^-10 cm^-1 Hz^-1/2. A precision of 0.3 ppb Hz^-1/2 is obtained using a thermoelectrically cooled detector, which allows continuous unattended operation over extended time periods with a totally cryogen-free instrument. Received: 1 May 2002 / Revised version: 6 June 2002 / Published online: 21 August 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-978/663-4918, E-mail: ddn@aerodyne.com