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Versatile Infrared Laser source for Low-cost Analysis of Gas Emissions

Project description


Photonic components

According to recent reports, the worldwide market for spectroscopy instrumentation is expected to witness a dramatic growth during the next years, with the largest share exploiting the infrared part of the spectrum. Today, expensive high-end systems such as Fourier-Transform Infrared spectrometers still dominate this market segment. Yet, widespread greener and safer industrial processes are driving the need for more versatile or sensitive gas analyzers. Thanks to very strong and well-separated absorption peaks for most relevant species, such a prospect can be offered by direct high-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) absorption spectroscopy.The main technical and scientific objective of VILLAGE is the development of a cost-effective widely tunable MIR laser source of high spectral purity. It will form the basis for a new generation of multi-gas analysers based on spectroscopic techniques for measurements of polluting gases generated by and emitted from industrial processes, and more specifically the gases believed to contribute to global warming. Built on several proven trends in the field of emerging photonic components in which the partners have leading positions, this source will combine in a robust design a Thulium-doped fiber laser device including a widely tunable Bragg grating stage, a nonlinear frequency converting semiconductor crystal (Orientation-Patterned Gallium Arsenide) and a high spectral purity optical parametric oscillator (OPO) cavity.This new OPO will be integrated into a transportable spectroscopic instrument for analysis of polluting gases and demonstration through practical tests that the system is capable of measuring the target gases at specified concentration levels (both laboratory and onsite-based). In the long term, the availability of this source is bound to also be beneficial to several growing instrumentation markets for health, security and food-related applications and the project outputs will be promoted accordingly.

Call for proposal

FP6-2005-IST-5
See other projects for this call

Coordinator

THALES SA
EU contribution
€ 363 000,00
Address
Route Départementale 128
91767 Palaiseau
France

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Participants (4)