Elliot Scientific has showcased the remote-sensing and imaging capabilities of the new Firefly-IR laser system by the real-time visualisation of greenhouse-gas plumes.
The company's Youtube channel presents video footage captured by scientists at St Andrews University using M Squared Lasers' novel Firefly-IR laser to demonstrate the advanced capabilities of the Firefly-IR system in remote sensing, imaging and molecular spectroscopy.
In this demonstration, the Firefly-IR laser reveals the presence of a notorious greenhouse gas - in this case methane - by using the gas molecule's characteristic of absorbing specific infrared wavelengths.
The Firefly-IR's wide tuning range (in this case tuned to 3.35um), high-powered nanosecond pulses and high pulse repetition rate enabled the researchers to capture the escaping gas cloud on video.
Elliot Scientific's video shows how methane - invisible to conventional video cameras under normal lighting conditions - cannot hide when the scene is illuminated by the Firefly-IR laser.
The Firefly-IR provides a blend of high-brightness coverage of the near- to mid-infrared wavelength regions and output power from a shoebox-sized source.
Applications include: spectroscopy and the detection of greenhouse gases and hydrocarbons such as CH4 and C2H6; security; the characterisation and detection of explosives, drugs and bio-agents; medical diagnostics, including ppm breath monitoring; jet- and combustion-engine emissions reduction; oil exploration; molecular spectroscopy; LIDAR; eye-safe illumination; and infrared (IR) countermeasures.
The Firefly-IR, with its high power and low beam divergence, can 'see' further in these applications, while a high pulse-repetition rate enables rapid data acquisition.
By combining all three, signals can be recovered more easily from any background noise, making the Firefly-IR suitable for video-rate imaging - an alternative to the basic 'yes/no' detection of hazardous substances in safety and security applications.
The Firefly-IR is based on a new intracavity optical parametric oscillator (OPO) design, integrated with a pulsed diode-pumped laser to offer wide tuneability.
A single Firefly-IR system can cover the mid-IR wavelengths from ~2.4 to 4.7 microns, accessing the absorption features of many different molecular species.
Benefits of the design include the efficient conversion of nanosecond pump pulses to the mid-IR and a rugged and compact optical head.
These features offer cost and space savings for the user, as well as advantages in spectroscopy, sensing and detection applications.
Standard and customised Firefly-IR systems manufactured by M Squared Lasers are available through Elliot Scientific in the UK and Europe.
