Injection lasers in the 1.3–1.8 μm wavelength range

Conclusion There are developed techniques for the preparation of diode lasers in the 1.3 to 1.8 m range on the basis of quaternary epitaxial heterostructure. Devices for a particular wavelength of 1.3 m are now commercially available. The state of art in the laser studies with connection to lower room-temperature threshold and to higher operation temperature is illustrated in fig. 9. We feel that the laser system of InGaAsP, which is known since 1974 [1, 2], may be elaborated further for higher laser characteristics in spite of the fact that present state is quite acceptable for different applications. There are many fibre-optics projects based on the conception of laser optical communication with the use of diodes in the range of 1.3–1.8 m.Invited talk at the International Conference on Radiative Recombination and Related Phenomena in III–V Compound Semiconductors, Prague, 4–7 October, 1983.The author is indebted to Dr. L. M. Dolginov, B. N. Sverdlov, A. E. Drakin, P. A. Louk, E. G. Shevchenko for the help in this work.     

CO2 concentration and temperature sensor for combustion gases using diode-laser absorption near 2.7 μm

A new tunable diode-laser sensor based on CO₂ absorption near 2.7 μm is developed for high-resolution absorption measurements of CO₂ concentration and temperature. The sensor probes the R(28) and P(70) transitions of the ν₁+ν₃ combination band of CO₂ that has stronger absorption line-strengths than the bands near 1.5 μm and 2.0 μm used previously to sense CO₂ in combustion gases. The increased absorption strength of transitions in this new wavelength range provides greatly enhanced sensitivity and the potential for accurate measurements in combustion gases with short optical path lengths. Simulated high-temperature spectra are surveyed to find candidate CO₂ transitions isolated from water vapor interference. Measurements of line-strength, line position, and collisional broadening parameters are carried out for candidate CO₂ transitions in a heated static cell as a function of temperature and compared to literature values. The accuracy of a fixed-wavelength CO₂ absorption sensor is determined via measurement of known temperature and CO₂ mole fraction in a static cell and shock-tube. Absorption measurements of CO₂ are then made in a laboratory flat-flame burner and in ignition experiments of shock-heated n-heptane/O₂/argon mixtures to illustrate the potential of this sensor for combustion and reacting-flow applications. PACS 42.62.Fi; 42.55.Px; 07.07.Df     

GaSb-based mid-infrared 2–5 μm laser diodes

Laser diodes emitting at room temperature in continuous wave regime (CW) in the mid-infrared (2–5 μm spectral domain) are needed for applications such as high sensitivity gas analysis by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) and environmental monitoring. Such semiconductor devices do not exist today, with the exception of type-I GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb quantum well laser diodes which show excellent room temperature performance, but only in the 2.0–2.6 μm wavelength range. Beyond 2.6 μm, type-II GaInAsSb/GaSb QW lasers, type-III ‘W’ InAs/GaInSb lasers, and interband quantum cascade lasers employing the InAs/Ga(In)Sb/AlSb system, all based on GaSb substrate, are competitive technologies to reach the goal of room temperature CW operation. These different technologies are discussed in this paper. To cite this article: A. Joullié, P. Christol, C. R. Physique 4 (2003).     

Pulsed gas laser operating in the 0.193–10.6-μm range

Results are reported of an investigation of a system for exciting pulsed highpressure gas lasers. The method permits effective pumping of various active media, such as CO₂, excimer-molecules, N₂, etc. Lasing was obtained on seven different wavelengths in the range 0.193–10.6 m with pulse power more than 1 MW.Translated from Lazernye Sistemy, pp. 102–108, 1982.     

Measurement of absorption spectra for atmospheric methane by a lidar system with tunable emission wavelength in the range 1.41–4.24 μm

We have developed, built, and tested an automated differential lidar system for measuring low concentrations of atmospheric gases, based on an optical parametric oscillator tunable in the near IR region. We have calculated the spectral shift of the relative intensities of the individual lines in the ν₃ absorption band of methane. In comparing the measured and calculated spectra, we did not observe any shifts in the ν₃ absorption band of methane. At the same time, in the experimental spectra we observe broadening of the Q branch and the individual lines of the P branch. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 76, No. 2, pp. 285–290, March–April, 2009.     

High speed and wide temperature range uncooled 1.3-μm ridge waveguide DFB lasers

A 1.3-μm wavelength vertical-mesa ridge waveguide mulitple-quantum-well （MQW） distributed feedback （DFB） laser with high directly modulated bandwidth and wide operation temperature range is reported. With the optimization of the strained-layer MQWs in the active region, the surrounding graded-index separated-confinement-heterostructure waveguide layers, together with the optimization of the detuning and coupling coefficient of the DFB grating, high directly modulation bandwidth of 16 GHz at room temperature and wide working temperature range from -40 to 85 ℃ are obtained. The mean time to failure （MTTF） is estimated to be over 2×10^6 h. The device is suitable as light source of high-bit-rate optical transmitters with small size and reduced cost.     

Temperature and current coefficients of lasing wavelength in tunable diode laser spectroscopy

The factors determining temperature and current coefficients of lasing wavelength are investigated and discussed under monitoring CO₂-gas absorption spectra. The diffusion rate of Joule heating at the active layer to the surrounding region is observed by monitoring the change in the junction voltage, which is a function of temperature and the wavelength (frequency) deviation under sinusoidal current modulation. Based on the experimental results, the time interval of monitoring the wavelength after changing the ambient temperature or injected current (scanning rate) has to be constant at least to eliminate the monitoring error induced by the deviation of lasing wavelength, though the temperature and current coefficients of lasing wavelength differ with the rate.     

High-resolution cavity leak-out absorption spectroscopy in the 10-μm region

2 laser. After excitation, the laser power is turned off for a short time and the subsequent decay of the radiation stored in the cavity is observed via detection of the light leaking out through one of the cavity mirrors. Measurement of the decay time allows one to determine the photon losses und thus to detect weakly absorbing species inside the cavity. Since the cavity is frequency-locked to the laser the decay time can be probed with a high repetition rate, basically limited by the sampling rate of the analog-to-digital converter. This approach is closely related to cavity ring-down spectroscopy with pulsed lasers, but exhibits several advantages concerning spectral resolution and detection sensitivity. As a practical example we demonstrate monitoring of trace amounts of ethylene. Using R=99.5% mirrors we achieve a detection limit of 1 ppb ethylene (integration time: 100 s) corresponding to absorption losses of 3×10^-8 /cm. Further improvement is feasible when mirrors with higher reflectivity become available. Received: 2 July 1998     

Carbon dioxide and ammonia detection using 2 μm diode laser based quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy

Quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy was employed for trace gas concentration measurements of CO₂ and NH₃ using a continuous wave thermoelectrically cooled, distributed feedback diode laser operating at 2 μm. A normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient, NNEA(1σ)=1.4×10^-8 cm^-1W/ was obtained for CO₂ using the R18 line of the 2ν₁+ν₃ band at 4991.26 cm^-1. This corresponds to minimum detection limit (1σ) of 18 parts per million (ppm) for a 1 s lock-in time constant. The influence of the H₂O presence in the sample gas mixture on the CO₂ sensor performance was investigated. Ammonia detection was performed using the ^P P ₆(6)_S line of the ν₃+ν₄ band at 4986.99 cm^-1. A detection limit (1σ) of 3 ppm for NH₃ concentration with a 1 s lock-in time constant was achieved. This results in a normalized noise equivalent absorption of NNEA(1σ)=8.9×10^-9 cm^-1W/. PACS 82.80.Kq; 46.62.Fi; 42.55.Px     

Wavelength-modulation spectroscopy near 2.5 μm for H2O and temperature in high-pressure and -temperature gases

The design and validation of a tunable diode laser (TDL) sensor for temperature and H₂O in high-pressure and -temperature gases are presented. High-fidelity measurements are enabled through the use of: (1) strong H₂O fundamental-band absorption near 2.5 μm, (2) calibration-free first-harmonic-normalized wavelength-modulation spectroscopy with second-harmonic detection (WMS-2f/1f), (3) an experimentally derived and validated spectroscopic database, and (4) a new approach to selecting the optimal wavelength and modulation depth of each laser. This sensor uses two TDLs near 2,474 and 2,482 nm that were fiber coupled in free space and frequency multiplexed to enable measurements along a single line-of-sight. The lasers were modulated at 35 and 45.5 kHz, respectively, to achieve a sensor bandwidth of 4.5 kHz. This sensor was validated in a shock tube at temperatures and pressures ranging from 1,000 to 2,700 K and 8 to 50 bar. There the sensor resolved transients and recovered the known steady-state temperature and H₂O mole fraction with a precision of 3.2 and 2.6 % RMS, respectively.     

Laser diode photoacoustic and FTIR laser spectroscopy of formaldehyde in the 2.3 μm and 3.5 μm spectral range

The room temperature operating GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb based diode laser and 66 K InAsSb/InAsSbP laser diode both operating in spectral range of formaldehyde absorption 4350-4361 cm⁻¹ and 2821-2823 cm⁻¹ have been characterized and compared. Very precise arrangement of laser absorption together with high resolution Fourier transform technique was tested. The photoacoustic technique was employed to determine the detection limit of formaldehyde (less than 1 ppmV) diluted by nitrogen for the strongest absorption line of the ν₃ + ν₅ band in the emission region of the GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb diode laser. The detection limit (less than 10 ppbV) of formaldehyde was achieved in the 2820 cm⁻¹ spectral range in case of InAsSb/InAsSbP laser (fundamental bands of ν₁, ν₅)_.     

Dual-beam laser heterodyne spectrometer: Ethylene absorption spectrum in the 10 μm range

A laser heterodyne spectrometer for the 10 m region has been built. A 5 MHz apparatus function is obtained. The improvement of this spectrometer using a dual-beam technique is described. The folding effects in heterodyne spectroscopy are discussed. The recorded lineshapes are explained. An ethylene spectrum is shown as an example.     

Line strength and collisional broadening studies of hydrogen sulphide in the 1.58 μm region using diode laser spectroscopy

High resolution diode laser spectroscopy has been applied to the detection of hydrogen sulphide at ppm levels utilizing different transitions within the region of the ν ₁+ν ₂+ν ₃ and 2ν ₁+ν ₂ combination bands around 1.58 μm. Suitable lines in this spectral region have been identified, and absolute absorption cross sections have been determined through single-pass absorption spectroscopy and confirmed in the Doppler linewidth regime using cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy (CEAS). The desire for a sensitive system potentially applicable to H₂S sensing at atmospheric pressure has led to an investigation on suitable transitions using wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS). The set-up sensitivity has been calculated as 1.73×10⁻⁸ cm⁻¹ s^1/2, and probing the strongest line at 1576.29 nm a minimum detectable concentration of 700 ppb under atmospheric conditions has been achieved. Furthermore, pressure broadening coefficients for a variety of buffer gasses have been measured and correlated to the intermolecular potentials governing the collision process; the H₂S–H₂S dimer well depth is estimated to be 7.06±0.09 kJ mol⁻¹.     

Suppression of laser noise in CW 337μm HCN lasers

In a d.c.-discharge-excited 337 μm HCN laser, amplitude laser noise has been observed at the frequency range of 30 kHz to 1 MHz. The laser noise is classified into three types; oscillation noise having sharp peaks, broadly distributed noise having a center frequency and 1/f-noise. Characteristics of the laser noise have been studied experimentally. The laser noise is caused by small oscillation which appears on d.c.-discharge current and by random fluctuations of current and plasma density. The laser noise has been suppressed more than 30 dB by adjusting the laser parameters such as discharge current, pressure and flow rates of mixed gas (CH4₄ + N₂ + He) and added He.     

Ozone detection by differential absorption spectroscopy at ambient pressure with a 9.6 μm pulsed quantum-cascade laser

We report direct absorption spectroscopic detection of ozone at ambient pressure with a pulsed, DFB quantum-cascade laser (QCL) tuned within 1044–1050 cm^-1 by temperature scanning. Wavelength calibration curves were derived from FTIR and CO₂ spectra and interpreted with respect to the heat transfer from the heterostructure to the sink. The laser linewidth (0.13 cm^-1 FWHM) was found to decrease with temperature, probably as a result of operation at constant current. Spurious spectral features due to baseline inaccuracies were successfully filtered out from the QCL O₃ spectra using differential absorption. Reference O₃ concentrations were obtained by applying the same method to UV spectra, simultaneously measured with a differential optical absorption spectrometer (DOAS). Column densities retrieved from QCL spectra are in fairly good agreement (±20%) with the DOAS values above 28 ppmm. The estimated QCL lowest detectable, absolute and differential absorptions, (7×10^-3 and 2×10^-3, respectively), entail effective detection limits of 14 and 25 ppmm, respectively. Ongoing improvements in the acquisition system should allow the achievement of detection limits at the level of commercial open-path DOAS systems (2 ppmm) in the near future. Our results demonstrate the applicability of the differential absorption method to QCL spectroscopy at ambient pressure, and encourage its use for open path detection. PACS 42.62.Fi; 82.80.Gk; 92.60.Sz     

Scanned-wavelength-modulation spectroscopy near 2.5 μm for H2O and temperature in a hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet combustor

The design and demonstration of a two-color tunable diode laser sensor for measurements of temperature and H₂O in an ethylene-fueled model scramjet combustor are presented. This sensor probes multiple H₂O transitions in the fundamental vibration bands near 2.5 μm that are up to 20 times stronger than those used by previous near-infrared H₂O sensors. In addition, two design measures enabled high-fidelity measurements in the nonuniform flow field. (1) A recently developed calibration-free scanned-wavelength-modulation spectroscopy spectral-fitting strategy was used to infer the integrated absorbance of each transition without a priori knowledge of the absorption lineshape and (2) transitions with strengths that scale near-linearly with temperature were used to accurately determine the H₂O column density and the H₂O-weighted path-averaged temperature from the integrated absorbance of two transitions.     

A versatile photoacoustic spectrometer for sensitive trace-gas analysis in the mid-infrared wavelength region (5.1–8.0 and 2.8–4.1 μm)

A versatile CO laser-based photoacoustic spectrometer is presented equipped with three photoacoustic cells placed inside the laser cavity. The newly designed CO laser can operate both in the Δv=1 and the Δv=2 modes (5.1–8.0 μm and 2.8–4.1 μm) on 400 laser lines. Improved laser operation originating from a better cooling of the gas discharge was evidenced by a shift of the laser output power to lower J-values. Due to the wide emission range of the source, many molecules of biological and atmospheric interest, including methane and ethane, can be detected with sensitivities typically at the (sub)ppb level. Measurement of the respiration of a cockroach showed that the spectrometer is not only sensitive, but also has a good time response (8 s at a flow rate of 10 l/h). Received: 3 April 2002 / Revised version: 14 June 2002 / Published online: 21 August 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Current address: Soegijapranata Catholic University, Department of Food Technology, Jalan Pawiyatan Luhur IV/1 Bendan Duwur, P.O. Box 8033/SM, Semarang 50234, Indonesia RID="**" ID="**"Current address: Sanata Dharma University, FMIPA, Kampus III, Paingan, Maguwoharjo, Depok, Sleman, Tromol Pos 29, Yogyakarta 55002, Indonesia RID="***" ID="***"Corresponding author. Fax: +31-24/365-3311, E-mail: fransh@ sci.kun.nl     

Detection of HCl on the first and second overtone using semiconductor diode lasers at 1.7 μm and 1.2 μm

Sensitivity studies are also performed, to evaluate the minimum detectable concentration of HCl in air. Received: 7 August 1998/Revised version: 5 October 1998