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Chirped-pulse terahertz spectroscopy for broadband trace gas sensing

Published

Author(s)

Eyal Gerecht, Kevin O. Douglass, David F. Plusquellic

Abstract

We report the first demonstration of a broadband trace gas sensor based on chirp-pulse terahertz spectroscopy. The advent of newly developed solid state sources and heterodyne detectors for the terahertz frequency range have made it possible to generate and detect precise arbitrary waveforms at THz frequencies with ultra-low phase noise. In order to maximize sensitivity, the sample gas is first polarized using a sub-μsec chirped THz pulse and the free inductive decay (FID) is detected using a heterodyne receiver. This approach allows for a rapid broadband multi-component sensing with parts-per-billion sensitivity at a spectral resolution of
Citation
Optics Express
Volume
19
Issue
9

Keywords

chirped pulse, free induction decay, phase stable, THz amplifier multiplier chains, trace gas detector

Citation

Gerecht, E. , Douglass, K. and Plusquellic, D. (2011), Chirped-pulse terahertz spectroscopy for broadband trace gas sensing, Optics Express, [online], https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.19.008973 (Accessed March 19, 2024)
Created April 22, 2011, Updated January 27, 2020