Measurement of nitric oxide with an antimonide diode laser

An antimonide diode laser operating near 2.65 mu m was used to measure absorption lines of NO gas in the first overtone band. A blended line pair of NO that is sufficiently free of interference from H2O to permit the selective detection of NO under reduced pressure conditions was identified. With wavelength-modulation spectroscopy, a rms noise level equivalent to an absorbance of 3.2 x 10(-6) was achieved at a measurement integration time (for a single spectral data point) of 0.1 s. The corresponding detection sensitivity (signal-to-noise ratio of 2) for NO in air at reduced pressure was similar to 15 ppm m (ppm is parts in 10(6)). Antimonide diode lasers show substantial promise for gas-sensing applications because they can gain access to relatively strong absorption lines of several gases of environmental interest at operating wavelengths at which cryogenic cooling is not required. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.