An All-Optical Photoacoustic Sensor for the Detection of Trace Gas

A highly sensitive Fabry-Perot based transduction method is proposed as an all-optical alternative for the detection of trace gas by the photoacoustic spectroscopy technique. A lumped element model is firstly devised to help design the whole system and is successfully compared to finite element method simulations. The fabricated Fabry-Perot microphone consists in a hinged cantilever based diaphragm, processed by laser cutting, and directly assembled at the tip of an optical fiber. We find a high acoustic sensitivity of 630 mV/Pa and a state-of-the-art noise equivalent pressure, as low as ~   2   μ Pa / Hz at resonance. For photoacoustic trace gas detection, the Fabry-Perot microphone is further embedded in a cylindrical multipass cell and shows an ultimate detection limit of 15 ppb of NO in nitrogen. The proposed optical trace gas sensor offers the advantages of high sensitivity and easy assembling, as well as the possibility of remote detection.