Real-time monitoring of nitric oxide in diesel exhaust gas by mid-infrared cavity ring-down spectroscopy

We report the accurate and precise measurement of nitric oxide (NO) in automotive exhaust gas by cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) using a thermoelectrically cooled, pulsed quantum cascade laser (QCL) as a light source. A mid-infrared QCL with a 5.26 mu m wavelength was used to detect fundamental vibrational transitions of NO. An effective optical path length of 2.1 km was achieved in a 50 cm long cell using high-reflectivity mirrors. In combination with a particle filter and a membrane gas dryer, stable and sensitive measurement of NO in exhaust gas was achieved for more than 30 minutes with a time resolution of 1 s. The results of this work indicate that a laser based NO sensor can be used to measure NO in exhaust gas over a dynamic range of three orders of magnitude.