Near infrared frequency comb vernier spectrometer for broadband trace gas detection

We perform femtosecond frequency comb vernier spectroscopy in the near infrared with a femtosecond Er doped fiber laser, a scanning high-finesse cavity and an InGaAs camera. By utilizing the properties of a frequency comb and a scanning high-finesse cavity such spectroscopy provides broad spectral bandwidth, high spectral resolution, and high detection sensitivity on a short time scale. We achieved an absorption sensitivity of ~8E-8 cm-1Hz-1/2 corresponding to a detection limit of ~70 ppbv for acetylene, with a resolution of ~1.1 GHz in single images taken in 0.5 seconds and covering a frequency range of ~5 THz. These measurements have broad applications for sensing other greenhouse gases in this fingerprint near IR region with a simple apparatus.