IET Introduces… Laser dispersion spectroscopy for gas analysis & Laser Isotope Ratiometery

A cursory glance through the pages of this issue of International Environmental Technology reveals a myriad of measurement applications, and associated solutions.  These solutions have been developed and refined over decades, employing a range of measurement principles, from complex wet-chemical analysis, incredibly versatile gas chromatography, through to optical techniques, including the more recently mature, laser absorption spectroscopy.

Perhaps nowhere are measurement requirements more complex than for in-the-field, environmental measurements.  Complex and harsh sample conditions within combustion process stacks for example, or extremely high accuracy and precision demands associated with long-term background measurements of greenhouse gases.  Gas analysers for these applications must be robust, accurate, and stable, delivering traceable measurements for scientific, regulatory, and process control tasks.  Ideally transportable, increasingly users are seeking to take analytical instrumentation out of the laboratory, and to the source, requiring analysers of lower power consumption, and lower weight, while still maintaining performance expected from instruments operating in controlled conditions.
To this end, MIRICO is bringing the next generation of laser-based gas analysis instrumentation to market, targeting a range of industrial and scientific applications with its mid-infrared technology, designed originally for space applications.

Introducing MIRICO, the Mid-InfraRed Instrumentation Company

MIRICO’s technology portfolio is based on research carried out by Dr. Damien Weidmann and the Laser Spectroscopy team at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), a national laboratory in the UK - http://www.ralspace.stfc.ac.uk/RALSpace/Areas+of+expertise/Technology/Laser/37444.aspx.  
 The Laser Spectroscopy team consists of 10 senior researchers focused on developing unique spectroscopic techniques primarily for atmospheric science, earth observation, and planetary landers for space missions. The team’s work has resulted in new analytical instruments for gas analysis that deliver laboratory standard performance in a highly compact, field deployable form factor, and offer highly unique capabilities. These powerful techniques enable a host of exciting applications, by bringing measurements out of the laboratory and into the field. Benefitting from over 10 years of research and development, MIRICO has turned these innovative technologies into a suite of products, delivering the requisite tools for industry and research professionals. Our innovative engineering team works with our customers to meet the requirements for different applications.
Over the coming months, MIRICO will be launching the first of its products based on two of the Laser Spectroscopy team’s technologies; the Laser Isotope Ratiometer (LIR), and open path sensing variants based on the Laser Dispersion Spectroscopy (LDS) platform.

Laser Dispersion Spectroscopy

Laser Dispersion Spectroscopy (LDS) is a new gas sensing technique that applies a novel approach to tuneable diode laser (TDL) spectroscopy. “Traditional” TDL techniques....