Multi-species, real time, high sensitivity, and compact in-situ sensor for environmental monitoring

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The ability to carry out real-time (>1 kHz data rate), in-situ, trace concentration measurements (ppb - ppt) of molecules and radicals would be an enabler for a wide range of scientific activities, environmental sciences being a major beneficiary. Currently gas chromatography, mass spectrometry (GC/MS) or electrochemical sensors cannot offer these combined attributes. Real-time air-quality measurements, lower troposphere urban chemistry studies (pollutant pathways), anthropogenic and biogenic emission measurements, flux exchange monitoring, to name only a few, are areas that would benefit greatly from the development of ultra-high sensitivity sensors, suitable for field deployment and operating with high temporal resolution. In this application we propose to demonstrate a novel approach to address these aspirations, which is ground-breaking in the field of ultra-high sensitivity laser based sensors for in-situ monitoring and laboratory studies. The concept exploits aspects of tuneable laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS) with several combined advantages: mid infrared operation targeting intense fundamental ro-vibrational absorption bands, cavity type spectroscopy providing extremely long equivalent absorber path lengths, wide frequency tuneability for multispecies and/or broadband absorber monitoring and compactness and robustness for field deployment. We propose here to develop and demonstrate this novel concept for ultra-trace species monitoring and bring the technology from TRL1 to TRL3.