Near- and mid-infrared laser monitoring of industrial processes, environment and security applications

The advantages of infrared laser monitoring in terms of sensitivity, selectivity and the ability of non-intrusive detection of gases are reviewed. Emphasis is laid on direct absorption spectroscopy and evanescent-field spectroscopy. The performance of the latter for gas detection in the near-infrared is demonstrated for the analysis of volcanic gases. For industrial process control, direct mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy is used to detect CO in the high-temperature atmosphere of a glass melting furnace. For both applications portable, stable, rugged and easy-to-handle laser systems are needed. Mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy is also applied to detect different explosives. Material evaporation is achieved by plasma generation with a pulsed laser at high repetition rate. Energetic materials contain high concentrations of nitrogen; therefore NO is present in the generated plasma. However, the rate at which NO is produced varies in a highly characteristic manner for different energetic materials. This enables the distinction between different types of explosives.