Dual trace gas detection using a compact two-channel multipass cell with dense and line spot patterns.

A highly sensitive dual-gas sensor based on a two-channel multipass cell (MPC) was designed and developed for simultaneous detection of atmospheric methane (CH) and carbon dioxide (CO) by using two distributed feedback lasers emitting at 1653 nm and 2004 nm. The nondominated sorting genetic algorithm was applied to intelligently optimize the MPC configuration and accelerate the dual-gas sensor design process. A compact and novel two-channel MPC was used to achieve two optical path lengths of 27.6 m and 2.1 m in a small volume of 233 cm. Simultaneous measurements of CH and CO in the atmosphere were performed to demonstrate the stability and robustness of the gas sensor. According to the Allan deviation analysis, the optimal detection precision for CH and CO was 4.4 ppb at an integration time of 76 s and 437.8 ppb at an integration time of 271 s, respectively. The newly developed dual-gas sensor exhibits superior characteristics of high sensitivity and stability, cost-effectiveness and simple structure, which make it well-suited for multiple trace gas sensing in various applications, including environmental monitoring, safety inspections and clinical diagnosis.