Open-Air, Broad-Bandwidth Trace-Gas Sensing with a Mid-Infrared Optical Frequency Comb

A mid-Infrared frequency comb is produced via an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by an amplified 100 MHz Yb:fiber mode-locked laser. We use this source to make measurements of the concentration of the atmospherically-relevant species of CH4 and H2O over a bandwidth of 100 nm centered at 3.25 um. Multiple absorption lines for each species are detected with millisecond acquisition time using a virtually-imaged phased array (VIPA) spectrometer. The measured wavelength-dependent absorption profile is compared to and fitted by a model, yielding quantitative values of the atmospheric concentration of both CH4 and H2O in a controlled indoor environment, as well as over a 26 m open air outdoor path.