Posted: February 24, 2010 | |
Video footage shows greenhouse gas plumes revealed by laser illumination |
|
(Nanowerk News) Elliot Scientific showcases the novel remote sensing and imaging capabilities of the new Firefly-IR laser system by real-time visualisation of greenhouse gas plumes. | |
Elliot Scientific's YouTube channel presents video footage captured by scientists at the University of St. Andrews using M Squared Lasers' novel Firefly-IR laser to dramatically demonstrate the advanced capabilities of the Firefly-IR system in remote sensing, imaging and molecular spectroscopy. | |
In this demonstration, the Firefly-IR laser reveals the presence of a notorious greenhouse gas - in this case methane - by using the gas molecule's characteristic of absorbing specific infrared wavelengths. Firefly-IR's wide tuning range (in this case tuned to 3.35µm), high-powered nanosecond pulses and high pulse repetition rate enabled the researchers to capture good quality video of the escaping gas cloud. | |
Elliot Scientific's video shows how methane, invisible to conventional video cameras under normal lighting conditions, cannot hide when the scene is illuminated by the Firefly-IR laser. | |
The Firefly-IR provides a unique blend of high brightness coverage of the near to mid-infrared wavelength regions and class-leading output power from a shoebox sized source, bringing new performance capabilities to a variety of scientific and industrial applications. | |
Applications include: | |
|
|
Firefly's high power and low beam divergence allows it to 'see' further in these applications, while a high pulse repetition rate enables rapid data acquisition. Combining all three allows recovery of signals more easily from any background noise, making the Firefly-IR ideal for video-rate imaging - a highly desirable alternative to basic 'yes/no' detection of hazardous substances in safety and security applications. | |
Firefly-IR is based on a novel intracavity OPO (optical parametric oscillator) design, integrated with a pulsed diode-pumped laser to offer wide tunability. A single Firefly-IR can cover the mid-IR wavelengths from ~ 2.4 to 4.7 microns, accessing the absorption features of many different molecular species. | |
The design also has major performance benefits, such as highly efficient conversion of the nanosecond pump pulses to the mid-IR and an extremely rugged and compact optical head. These features combine to offer cost and space savings for the user, and significant advantages in spectroscopy, sensing and detection applications. | |
Standard and customised Firefly-IR systems manufactured by M Squared Lasers are available through Elliot Scientific Ltd. in the UK and Europe. |
Source: Elliot Scientific |
Subscribe to a free copy of one of our daily
Nanowerk Newsletter Email Digests
with a compilation of all of the day's news.
Nanowerk Newsletter Email Digests
with a compilation of all of the day's news.