Broadband cantilever-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy in the mid-IR using supercontinuum

TL;DR

This paper introduces a broadband, compact cantilever-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy technique in the mid-infrared using a supercontinuum source, significantly improving signal strength and noise ratio for gas detection.

Contribution

It presents a novel broadband photoacoustic spectroscopy method using supercontinuum light, enabling high-sensitivity detection of gases like water vapor and methane.

Findings

Achieved signal enhancement factors of 70 for water vapor and 19 for methane.

Demonstrated spectroscopic measurements across full ro-vibrational bands.

Showed potential for compact, sensitive broadband mid-IR analyzers.

Abstract

We demonstrate cantilever-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy in the mid-infrared using a supercontinuum source. The approach is broadband, compact, and allows for higher photoacoustic signal intensity and enhanced signal-to-noise ratio as compared to systems employing conventional back body radiation sources. Using this technique, we perform spectroscopic measurements of the full ro-vibrational band structure of water vapor at 1900 nm and methane at 3300 nm with relative signal enhancement factors of 70 and 19, respectively, when compared to measurements that use a black body radiation source. Our results offer novel perspective for photoacoustic detection opening the door to compact and sensitive broadband analyzers in the mid-infrared spectral region.