Overcoming Detection Limits of Absorption Spectroscopy

Absorption spectroscopy is a well-known tool for gas sensing, combustion diagnostics, and quantum technologies applications. Techniques like tunable laser absorption spectroscopy (TLAS) are straightforward for these applications, but not always suitable for low concentrations of molecules or transitions with low cross-section. TLAS is too noisy for absorption coefficients below approximately 10-4 cm-1.

Heiniger details various techniques that can be used to improve sensitivity, all the way down to spectroscopy of single molecules.

About the presenter
Adam Heiniger, Ph.D., received his doctorate in 2014 from the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester, where he studied the use of silicon photonic resonators as optical biosensors. He has also performed research on kW-class CW and ultrafast fiber amplifiers. At TOPTICA, Heiniger has worked in scientific sales and is now the senior product manager, managing the TOPO and Optical Isolators product lines and leading a team of application scientists.