Dual laser based optical feedback cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy by polarization division multiplexing

Abstract

This article presents a dual laser-based optical feedback cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy technique using polarization division multiplexing. The technique involves two laser beams with orthogonal polarization that enter a V-shaped cavity from two injection directions. This allows for independent control of feedback phase and eliminates the need for an optical component to combine the beams. The two lasers are detected separately at the two ends of the cavity. Additionally, a differential process is proposed to mitigate residual interference between the two lasers. By employing this technique, simultaneous detection of CH4, CO2 and H2O is achieved, resulting in a detection sensitivity of approximately 2 × 10−11 cm−1. Despite using a moderate cavity finesse in our spectrometer, the minimal detectable concentration for the gases is comparable to that of superior gas analyzers using cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS).