Advantages of photoacoustic detection with a silicon cantilever microphone are demonstrated in the THz range. In our method, earlier membrane microphone is replaced with robust silicon cantilever microphone, which can tolerate high intensity of the input radiation in contrast to vulnerable membrane. The responsivity of the photoacoustic sensor was confirmed to be constant over almost six orders of magnitude of input power, which is not easy to achieve with any other detector of THz radiation. Another favorable feature of the photoacoustic sensor is its uniform spatial responsivity over areas of several millimeters in size. Finally, we measured nearly constant spectral responsivity of the photoacoustic sensor for the wavelength range of 0.3 μm to 200 μm.
Precision power measurement of electromagnetic radiation is required to establish metrological applications, e.g. remote
sensing. The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), as the national metrology institute of Germany, has started
to determine the spectral responsivity of detectors for THz radiation. In this work, the THz spectral range denotes the
wavelength range from 60 μm to 300 μm, corresponding to 5 THz to 1 THz, which is traditionally the overlap between
far-IR and the sub-mm range.
Traceability of power measurement to the international system of units (SI) has been missing in the THz region in the
past. The PTB establishes this traceability by using two complementary optical approaches, source- and detector-based
radiometry. Both methods have been successfully prototyped. These primary investigations led to the design of a new
measurement facility for the determination of THz radiant power and the responsivity calibration of THz detectors
traceable to the SI.
In order to exploit new possibilities of THz sensing and imaging, it is not only necessary to generate and detect THz
radiation but also to measure the radiant power of the THz sources and the responsivity of the detecting systems
traceable to the international system of units (SI). This has been missing in the THz range up to now. The Physikalisch-
Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) has focused on this challenging task by using two complementary optical approaches:
source- and detector-based THz radiometry. Both methods have been successfully prototyped, and a pyroelectric THz
detector with known aperture was used to verify the consistency of the two independent calibration methods.
In this work two-photon polarization spectroscopy has been applied to determine absolute number densities of atomic hydrogen in a welding flame. The technique, with high spatial and temporal resolution, is very well suited for real combustion processes because is not limited by quenching, pressure, or temperature. The great potential of the technique comes together with a laser radiation of high spectral quality. The results allow mapping the distribution of atomic hydrogen along two perpendicular directions of the flame.
In this contribution we summarize the work of our team in the last years, which is devoted to the principle, development and applications of a new spectroscopic technique: two photon polarization spectroscopy. This technique is suitable for the diagnostic of plasmas even in far off thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. Up to now, working with hydrogen and deuterium in different kind of media, such as laboratory plasmas or industrial flames, we have been able to measure the absolute density and kinetic temperature of the hydrogen atoms, the electric field in the dark space of a hollow cathode discharge, and the Stark broadening of the 2S level of hydrogen isotopes. The full potential of this technique requires tuneable pulsed high power UV laser radiation of single longitudinal mode. To achieve this powerful tool we have modified a commercial laser and we will pay special attention to this system. The whole experimental arangement provides plenty of new and promising possibilities such as the study of industrial interest elements like oxygen, carbon, or nitrogen.
Local electric field strengths in low density plasmas can be measured directly by Doppler-free two-photon spectroscopy of atomic hydrogen mostly present in such discharges. This method is based on the Stark-splitting of the atomic resonance lines and causes no significant perturbation to the discharge. For this purpose, we take advantage of our advanced pulsed UV-laser spectrometers which provide not only the peak power needed for two-photon excitation but also the high spectral resolution to resolve the atomic hyperfine splitting. In a first experiment with opto-galvanic detection, atomic hydrogen was produced by thermal dissociation in a small cell filled with hydrogen gas and the Stark-splitting of the 1S-2S and the 1S-3S/D transition was measured. Electric fields as low as 200 V/cm and 30 V/cm respectively could be determined in accordance with theory. In addition, we have performed measurements in a hollow cathode discharge which provides higher electric fields in its cathode fall region and the 1S-2S spectrum was detected spatially resolved by means of opto-galvanic and polarization spectroscopy as well. Selected experimental results will be presented which clearly
demonstrate the high potential of this optical method.
The aim of this paper is to reveal the high potential which two-photon polarization spectroscopy can provide for the investigation of atomic species in combustion processes. As a first demonstration, we applied this technique to determine number densities and kinetic temperatures of atomic hydrogen in flames at atmospheric pressure. Our method, developed for laser-aided plasma diagnostics, renders possible absolute optical measurements in such dense combustion environments characterized by the presence of many kind of reacting species and a plasma state far off thermodynamic equilibrium. The measured polarization signal is caused only by the 1S-2S two-photon resonance of hydrogen atoms and not perturbed by the strong quenching rates or by the complicated radiative transfer. We performed the experiment with pulsed UV radiation of the highest spectral quality possible, i.e. single-mode laser radiation tunable around 243 nm with ns pulse duration close to the Fourier transform limit.
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