Spectroscopy gas sensing based on hollow fibres

We demonstrate gas sensing in a relatively compact sensor unit in particular for weakly absorbing gases in real time. As a proof-of-concept, we built an oxygen sensor for the A-Band at 760 nm. A VCSEL laser was used as a laser source due to its mode stability and reduced cost compared to DFB lasers and Fabry-Perot lasers. In order to reduce as much as possible the sensor size, a hollow waveguide is used to guide the light and the gas to be analysed in a long path to enhance the sensitivity of the sensor. Two different types of hollow fibres were characterised with respect to their suitability for gas sensing, a photonic crystal fibre, also known as micro-structured optical fibre, and hollow metal-coated capillaries. Characteristics as attenuation, spectral transmission properties and filling time were analysed. At the end, a sensor device with coupling and detection unit was developed. The main advantage of our set-up is the possibility of using the same design for different gases by changing solely the laser, the detector and the coupling lens.