Real time ammonia detection in exhaled human breath using a distributed feedback quantum cascade laser based sensor

Rafał Lewicki; Anatoliy A. Kosterev; David M. Thomazy; Terence H. Risby; Steven Solga; Timothy B. Schwartz; Frank K. Tittel

doi:10.1117/12.874887

24 January 2011 Real time ammonia detection in exhaled human breath using a distributed feedback quantum cascade laser based sensor

Rafał Lewicki, Anatoliy A. Kosterev, David M. Thomazy, Terence H. Risby, Steven Solga, Timothy B. Schwartz, Frank K. Tittel

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7945, Quantum Sensing and Nanophotonic Devices VIII; 79450K (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.874887
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

A continuous wave, thermoelectrically cooled, distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (DFB-QCL) based sensor platform for the quantitative detection of ammonia (NH3) concentrations present in exhaled human breath is reported. The NH3 concentration measurements are performed with a 2f wavelength modulation quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) technique, which is very well suited for real time breath analysis, due to the fast gas exchange inside a compact QEPAS gas cell. An air-cooled DFB-QCL was designed to target the interference-free NH3 absorption line located at 967.35 cm^-1 (λ~10.34 μm). The laser is operated at 17.5 °C, emitting ~ 24 mW of optical power at the selected wavelength. A 1σ minimum detectable concentration of ammonia for the line-locked NH₃ sensor is ~ 6 ppb with 1 sec time resolution. The NH₃ sensor, packaged in a 12"x14"x10" housing, is currently installed at a medical breath research center in Bethlehem, PA and tested as an instrument for non-invasive verification of liver and kidney disorders based on human breath samples.

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Rafał Lewicki, Anatoliy A. Kosterev, David M. Thomazy, Terence H. Risby, Steven Solga, Timothy B. Schwartz, and Frank K. Tittel "Real time ammonia detection in exhaled human breath using a distributed feedback quantum cascade laser based sensor", Proc. SPIE 7945, Quantum Sensing and Nanophotonic Devices VIII, 79450K (24 January 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.874887

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