SBIR 95-1 SOLICITATION

PROJECT SUMMARY

Proposal Number:

08.14-1322

Project Title:

INNOVATIVE OPEN PATH DIODE LASER SENSOR FOR TRACE GASES

Technical Abstract:

Trace gases produced in the biosphere affect the radiative balance of the planet. Sensitive, fast response instrumentation is needed for measuring the flux of trace gases from the biosphere to the troposphere. To avoid systematic errors, existing instruments sample air into a cell at fixed temperature and pressure. We propose to measure trace gas fluxes using an open path fast response diode laser sensor coupled with the eddy correlation method. The open path design is small and light weight. A new, customized digital signal processing method will be used to recover the trace gas signal without introducing systematic errors in the flux measurement. A novel multiple-pass optical system that uses inexpensive mirrors will boost the measurement sensitivity. The proposed sensor will permit measurement of the flux of various species, including CO2, CH4, NH3, and N2O. A rugged and compact sensor design will allow the instrument to be located remotely or aboard a research aircraft.

Potential Commercial Applications:

Commercial markets for this research include improved diagnostics for industrial process and stack gas monitoring, atmospheric research instrumentation, and leak detectors for the natural gas industry.

Name and Address of Offeror:

Southwest Sciences, Inc.
1570 Pacheco Street, Suite E-11
Santa Fe, NM 87505