2010 R&D 100 Winner
Trace gas analysis—critical for manufacturing, safety, and environmental applications—demands mastery of complex metrological techniques: sensitivity, specificity, and integrating complex technology. ap2e’s (Cedex, France) ProCeas Trace Gas Analyzer addresses these requirement with parts-per-billion (or less) sensitivity, a lack of sensitivity to interfering compounds (absolute selectivity), and a response of 10 answers per second.
The analyzer’s optical measurement component features the optical feedback cavity enhanced absorption spectrometer (OFCEAS) with a hyper-reflective cavity for the gas cell. A portion of the laser beam is fed back into its source after it has acquired the resonance frequency of the hyper-reflective cavity, enabling the purification of the injected laser beam and improving the signal-to-noise ratio.
The sampling component has a sonic nozzle probe for sample intake, a low pressure (100 mBar) flow circuit, a temperature controlled measurement cell, and a vacuum pump. The lower pressure narrows the absorption wavebands, removing the risk of spectroscopic interference between the absorption wavebands of various chemicals present in the mixture.
Technology
Optical trace gas analyzer
Developers
ap2e
Development Team
The ProCeas Trace Gas Analyzer Development Team from ap2e:
Lucien Lonigro
Pierre Cholat
