STTR Phase II: A New Device for Quantitative Determination of Trace Gas Species

Tiger Optics, Llc, Horsham PA

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Project substantially furthers the development of a powerful means to simultaneously measure trace amounts of multiple species vital to environmental control, industrial process control, and human health and safety. A fast, flexible, accurate, and low power-consuming technique, prism Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) will measure trace species to levels as low as parts-per-trillion. The research completed in Phase I demonstrated that the technology requires prisms fabricated from high-purity, super polished materials of high optical homogeneity. Phase I served both to identify appropriate materials to construct a fully functional prism and to prove that the prism cavity operates from the near UV down to the near IR range, greatly enhancing the breadth of CRDS performance. The commercial market for the prism cavity lends itself to a wide range of applications: manufacture of compound semiconductors for telecommunications; continuous emissions monitoring for environmental compliance and workplace safety; laser weapon development and performance verification; detection of explosives or chemical warfare agents; and chemical analysis of breath for medical diagnostics.