Wide-Area Chemical Sensor
Abstract
The detection and localization of gas releases such as methane from leaking natural gas pipelines or nitrogen oxides from failing electrical equipment require high sensitivity to the target gas and insensitivity to non-target gases. Infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy gives highly specific characterization of the identity and the amount of airborne chemicals. Traditionally, spectroscopy techniques for long-range chemical sensing separate the sensitive to x gas and insensitive to x gas atmospheric measurements by quickly switching back and forth between them to reduce errors caused by any atmospheric changes. Because the samples are not measured at the same time, it is impossible to ensure that all atmospheric conditions (e.g., contaminants or humidity) remain constant between the two measurements. The Wide-Area Chemical Sensor (WACS) addresses the problem of temporal atmospheric variation by taking the measurements concurrently; this approach compensates for spectral drift, atmospheric contaminants, and atmospheric scintillation, while simplifying the technical requirements of the laser (e.g., stability, power).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA625770
Entities
People
- Eric R. Statz
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology