Cavity-enhanced photoacoustic sensor based on a whispering-gallery-mode diode laser

Abstract

A cavity-enhanced photoacoustic (CEPA) sensor was developed based on an ultra-narrow linewidth whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) diode laser. A cavity-enhanced photoacoustic module (CEPAM) was designed to match the output beam from the WGM-diode laser, resulting in an increase in the excitation light power, which, in turn, significantly enhanced the photoacoustic signal amplitude. The results show that a signal gain factor of 166 was achieved, which is in excellent agreement with the power enhancement factor of 175 after considering the power transmissivity. The performance of the sensor was evaluated in terms of the detection sensitivity and linearity. A 1 σ detection limit of 0.45ppmV for C2H2 detection was obtained at atmospheric pressure with a 1s averaging time.