Differential Helmholtz resonant photoacoustic cell for spectroscopy and gas analysis with room-temperature diode lasers

The results of theoretical and experimental studies and the design of a multi-purpose differential Helmholtz resonant photoacoustic detector (DHRD) and its applications to high-resolution spectroscopy of molecular gases and gas analysis with a room-temperature diode laser in the near-IR region are summarized. The series of experiments and numerical analysis of the DHRD sensitivity were performed for both types (single-pass and multi-pass) of DHRDs within a wide pressure range 0.1–101 kPa, including the regime of a gas flowing through a DHRD cell. The hardware and electronic arrangement of DHRDs for diode laser spectrometers and gas analyzers providing a limiting absorption sensitivity better than 10^-7 Wm^-1 are described. The results of measurements of spectral line parameters of H₂O near 800 and 1390 nm and CH₄ near 1650 nm (intensities, line broadening and shifting by atomic and molecular gases) are presented and discussed. The problems and the ways of perfection of the methodology and accuracy of DHRD techniques with tunable diode lasers of near-IR and visible spectral ranges are discussed. Received: 1 April 2002 / Revised version: 20 June 2002 / Published online: 21 August 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +7/382-225-8026, E-mail: kvan@asd.iao.ru