AMPLIFIED LASER ABSORPTION: DETECTION OF NITRIC OXIDE

M.F. WEISBACH has been an NRC Postdoctoral FellowAuthor Institution: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research CenterThe effects on a single-line carbon monoxide laser power output have been studied as a function of nitric oxide particle density with the nitric oxide placed in an intra-cavity absorption cell. Measurements were done on the $J^{\prime}^{\prime} = 6.5 (^{2}\Pi_{1/2}$ sub-band) and $J^{\prime}^{\prime} = 18.5 (^{2}\Pi_{3/2}$ sub-band) lines of nitric oxide. These absorption lines are nearly resonant with (respectively) the $v^{\prime}^{\prime} = 8$, $J^{\prime}^{\prime} = 9$ and $v^{\prime}^{\prime} = 6$, $J^{\prime}^{\prime} = 13$ CO laser lines. The experimental power loss results are compared to theoretical predictions. It will be shown that optimization of laser parameters enables nitric oxide detection in the tens of parts per billion range. The implications of this technique for line shape studies will also be discussed