Part-per-trillion level SF6 detection using a quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy-based sensor with single-mode fiber-coupled quantum cascade laser excitation

A sensitive spectroscopic sensor based on a hollow-core fiber-coupled quantum cascade laser (QCL) emitting at 10.54 mu m and quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) technique is reported. The design and realization of mid-IR fiber and coupler optics has ensured single-mode QCL beam delivery to the QEPAS sensor. The collimation optics was designed to produce a laser beam of significantly reduced beam size and waist so as to prevent illumination of the quartz tuning fork and microresonator tubes. SF6 was selected as the target gas. A minimum detection sensitivity of 50 parts per trillion in 1 s was achieved with a QCL power of 18 mW, corresponding to a normalized noise-equivalent absorption of 2.7 x 10(-10) W . cm(-1)/Hz(1/2). (C) 2012 Optical Society of America