Low-power laser-based carbon monoxide sensor for fire and post-fire detection using a compact Herriott multipass cell

Abstract

With the anticipated retirement of Space Shuttles in the next few years, the re-supplying of short-lifetime sensors on the International Space Station (ISS) will be logistically more difficult. Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a well-known combustion product and its absence in a fire and post-fire environment is a reliable indicator for mission specialists that the air quality is at a safe to breathe level. We report on the development and performance of a prototype compact CO sensor, based on the PHOTONS platform [1], developed for the ISS based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). A CO absorption line at ~4285 cm^-1 is targeted using a distributed-feedback (DFB) laser diode operating at room temperature. A custom designed Herriott multipass cell 16cm long, with an effective path length of 3.7 m is employed. Mechanical, optical and electronics systems are integrated into a compact package of dimensions measuring 12.4"x 3.4"x 5". Power consumption is less than 1 W, enabling prolonged battery life. A detection limit of 3 ppm is achieved when performing 40 second long temperature scans. A recent initial test at NASA-JSC was successful. Future improvements include the reduction of the sampling volume, scan time and an improved CO minimum detection limit.