Applications of quartz tuning forks in spectroscopic gas sensing

A recently introduced approach to photoacoustic detection of trace gases utilizing a quartz tuning fork (TF) as a resonant acoustic transducer is described in detail. Advantages of the technique called quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) compared to conventional resonant photoacoustic spectroscopy include QEPAS sensor immunity to environmental acoustic noise, a simple absorption detection module design, and its capability to analyze gas samples similar to 1 mm(3) in volume. Noise sources and the TF properties as a function of the sampled gas pressure, temperature and chemical composition are analyzed. Previously published results for QEPAS based chemical gas sensing are summarized. The achieved sensitivity of 5.4x10(-9) cm(-1) W/root Hz is compared to recent published results of photoacoustic gas sensing by other research groups. An experimental study of the long-term stability of a QEPAS-based ammonia sensor is presented. The results of this study indicate that the sensor exhibits very low drift, which allows data averaging over >3 h of continuous concentration measurements. Architecture and practical implementation of autonomous QEPAS-sensor controller electronics is described. Future developments of QEPAS technique are outlined. (C) American Institute of Physics.