Highly sensitive and reliable optical fiber TDLAS gas detection system for methane in situ monitoring in near space

Abstract

A highly sensitive and reliable tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy gas detection system with a temperature–pressure compensation algorithm is demonstrated for detecting CH4 concentrations in near space. Near space generally refers to the airspace 20–100 km away from the ground, where temperature and pressure changes are complex. Since the gas absorption spectrum is easily affected by temperature and pressure, a temperature–pressure compensation algorithm is proposed and used in the CH4 sensor to improve the detection accuracy of the sensor. First, we measured the basic characteristics of the sensor in the laboratory, such as linearity and long-term stability. Experimental results showed that the linear correlation coefficient R-square can reach 0.999, and the concentration fluctuation of CH4 is less than 0.17 ppm within 3.5 h. Then the sensor was applied to a research activity in Qinghai Province, China, in September, and the results show that the sensor can effectively monitor the CH4 concentration in near space.