IR System Reveals Greenhouse Gases
Elliot Scientific's YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/elliotscientific, presents video footage captured by scientists at the Univ. of St. Andrews using M Squared Lasers' Firefly-IR laser to demonstrate the advanced capabilities of the Firefly-IR system in remote sensing, imaging and molecular spectroscopy.
In this demonstration, the laser reveals the presence of a notorious greenhouse gas--in this case methane--by using the gas molecule's characteristic of absorbing specific infrared wavelengths. The laser's tuning range (in this case tuned to 3.35µm), high-powered nanosecond pulses and high pulse repetition rate enabled the researchers to capture good quality video of the escaping gas cloud. The video shows how methane, invisible to conventional video cameras under normal lighting conditions, cannot hide when the scene is illuminated by the laser.
Firefly-IR provides a unique blend of high brightness coverage of the near to mid-infrared wavelength regions and class-leading output power from a shoebox sized source, bringing new performance capabilities to a variety of scientific and industrial applications.
Applications include spectroscopy and detection of greenhouse gases and hydrocarbons like CH4 and C2H6, as well as characterization and detection of explosives, drugs and bio-agents.
Medical diagnostics, such as p.p.m. breath monitoring, jet and combustion engine emissions reduction, oil exploration, and LIDAR are among other applications. 
Firefly's high-power and low-beam divergence allows it to "see" further in these applications, while a high pulse repetition rate enables rapid data acquisition. Combining all three allows recovery of signals more easily from any background noise, making the system suited for video-rate imaging, an alternative to basic "yes/no" detection of hazardous substances in safety and security applications.
The system is based on an intracavity OPO (optical parametric oscillator) design, integrated with a pulsed diode-pumped laser to offer tunability. A single Firefly can cover the mid-IR wavelengths from ~ 2.4 to 4.7 microns, accessing the absorption features of many different molecular species.
The design also has performance benefits, such as efficient conversion of the nanosecond pump pulses to the mid-IR and a rugged and compact optical head. These features combine to offer cost and space savings for the user, and significant advantages in spectroscopy, sensing and detection applications.
Standard and customized systems are available through Elliot Scientific Ltd. in the UK and Europe.
Elliot Scientific Ltd.
3 Allied Business Centre, Coldharbour Lane
Harpenden AL5 4UT
Phone: +44 (0) 1582 766300
Fax: +44 (0) 1582 766340
http://www.elliotscientific.com
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