Improvement in QEPAS system based on miniaturized collimator and flat mirror

• Structure based on miniaturized collimator and flat mirror is used in QEPAS system.
• Beam diameter of the collimator: less than 0.2 mm in a 20 mm working distance.
• Performance of new structure is verified and compared with previous structures.

An improved QEPAS (quartz enhanced photo-acoustic spectroscopy) system based on an optical structure comprising miniaturized collimator and flat mirror is proposed. The beam diameter of the miniaturized collimator is designed less than 0.2 mm in a 20 mm working distance. Experiments are set up to compare the beam quality and photo-acoustic performance of three optical structures (this one, fiber lead mode and conventional focus mode). By virtue of the micro-resonator tubes and flat mirror, the new proposed structure achieves a SNR of 260 for a 3000 ppmv water vapor sample, which is much better than 183 for the fiber lead mode and 193 for the conventional focus mode respectively. This test is achieved by using the same self-designed circuit with the same parameters. The proposed optical structure is simpler and easier for optical alignment, and provides an alternative way in improving and simplifying the QEPAS system for industrial applications.