Bing Chen

Rapid and precise detection of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) at trace levels is critical for industrial safety and environmental air quality monitoring, yet existing methods often struggle with cost, speed, or sensitivity. A cost-effective cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) analyzer is presented, incorporating a novel digital locking circuit for sequential laser-cavity mode matching. This system demonstrates rapid and precise hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) detection capability at parts-per-billion (ppb) concentration levels. Compared to traditional wavelength meters, our system delivers a 140-fold improvement in frequency interval precision (0.07 MHz, 0.027% relative uncertainty). Allan variance analysis under vacuum conditions demonstrates a sensitivity limit of 3 × 10⁻¹² cm⁻¹ at a 60-s averaging time. Validated through calibrated gas dilution tests, the analyzer detects a 4 ppb H₂S absorption signal with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) > 6, establishing a 2 ppb detection limit (3σ criterion). This innovative approach meets stringent industrial and environmental requirements, offering a significant advancement in trace gas-sensing technology.

Rapid and precise detection of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) at trace levels is critical for industrial safety and environmental air quality monitoring, yet existing methods often struggle with cost, speed, or sensitivity. We introduce a cost-effective cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) analyzer featuring a novel digital locking circuit that enables sequential laser-cavity mode matching, achieving fast and accurate H2S detection at parts-per-billion (ppb) levels. Compared to traditional wavelength meters, our system delivers a 140-fold improvement in frequency interval precision (0.07 MHz, 0.02% relative uncertainty). Allan variance analysis under vacuum conditions demonstrates a sensitivity limit of 3×10⁻¹² cm⁻¹ at a 60-s averaging time. Validated through calibrated gas dilution tests, the analyzer detects a 4 ppb H2S absorption signal with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) > 6, establishing a 2 ppb detection limit (3σ criterion). This innovative approach meets stringent industrial and environmental requirements, offering a significant advancement in trace gas sensing technology.

Research on carbon dioxide (CO₂) geological and biogeochemical cycles in the ocean is important to support the geoscience study. Continuous in-situ measurement of dissolved CO₂ is critically needed. However, the time and spatial resolution are being restricted due to the challenges of very high submarine pressure and quite low efficiency in water-gas separation, which, therefore, are emerging the main barriers to deep sea investigation. We develop a fiber-integrated sensor based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy for in-situ CO₂ measurement. Furthermore, a fast concentration retrieval model using exponential fit is proposed at non-equilibrium condition. The in-situ dissolved CO₂ measurement achieves 10 times faster than conventional methods, where an equilibrium condition is needed. As a proof of principle, near-coast in-situ CO₂ measurement was implemented in Sanya City, Haina, China, obtaining an effective dissolved CO₂ concentration of ~950 ppm. The experimental results prove the feasibly for fast dissolved gas measurement, which would benefit the ocean investigation with more detailed scientific data.

We report the development of a laser gas analyzer that measures gas concentrations at a data rate of 100 Hz. This fast data rate helps eddy covariance calculations for gas fluxes in turbulent high wind speed environments. The laser gas analyzer is based on derivative laser absorption spectroscopy and set for measurements of water vapor (H₂O, at wavelength ~1392 nm) and carbon dioxide (CO₂, at ~2004 nm). This instrument, in combination with an ultrasonic anemometer, has been tested experimentally in both marine and terrestrial environments. First, we compared the accuracy of results between the laser gas analyzer and a high-quality commercial instrument with a max data rate of 20 Hz. We then analyzed and compared the correlation of H₂O flux results at data rates of 100 Hz and 20 Hz in both high and low wind speeds to verify the contribution of high frequency components. The measurement results show that the contribution of 100 Hz data rate to flux calculations is about 11% compared to that measured with 20 Hz data rate, in an environment with wind speed of ~10 m/s. Therefore, it shows that the laser gas analyzer with high detection frequency is more suitable for measurements in high wind speed environments.

We report here the development of a compact, open-path CO₂ and H₂O sensor based on the newly introduced scanned-wavelength modulation spectroscopy with the first harmonic phase angle (scanned-WMS-θ1f) method for high-sensitivity, high temporal resolution, ground-based measurements. The considerable advantage of the sensor, compared with existing commercial ones, lies in its fast response of 500 Hz that makes this instrument ideal for resolving details of high-frequency turbulent motion in exceptionally dynamic coastal regions. The good agreement with a commercial nondispersive infrared analyzer supports the utility and accuracy of the sensor. Allan variance analysis shows that the concentration measurement sensitivities can reach 62 ppb CO₂ in 0.06 s and 0.89 ppm H₂O vapor in 0.26 s averaging time. Autonomous field operation for 15-day continuous measurements of greenhouse gases (CO₂/H₂O) was performed on a shore-based monitoring tower in Daya Bay, demonstrating the sensor’s long-term performance. The capability for high-quality fast turbulent atmospheric gas observations allow the potential for better characterization of oceanographic processes.