Los Gatos Research, Inc.

Thomas G Owano

Manish P Gupta

Douglas Steven Baer

Anthony O'Keefe

An absorption spectroscopy instrument is provided with a re-injection mirror to greatly increase the optical power coupled into an optical cavity, comprised of two or more mirrors, for the purpose of increasing the quality of absorption and extinction measurements made in the cavity. Light reflected from the first cavity mirror upon which a light beam is incident, can be efficiently collected and back reflected onto the same mirror, effectively producing a plurality of optical injections into the cavity. The instrument can be used for off-axis cavity ringdown spectroscopy, off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscopy, or other cavity-based spectroscopy applications.

Absorption spectroscopy instrument with increased optical cavity power without resonant frequency build-up

The disclosure describes an absorption spectroscopy method for sensing hydrogen gas in a sample atmosphere and an associated hydrogen sensor. A light beam, having a wavelength corresponding to a vibrational transition of hydrogen molecules from a ground vibration state to any excited rotational vibration state via a quadrupole interaction, is introduced into an optical cavity adapted to receive a sample atmosphere to be tested for the presence of hydrogen gas. The light is introduced into the cavity in an off-axis alignment to systematically eliminate cavity resonances, while preserving the absorption signal amplifying properties of such cavities. Hydrogen absorption is measured is terms of cavity output, as in the ICOS technique.

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Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Thomas G Owano