Abstract

We have designed and developed a feedback mechanism for continuous monitoring in a long-pass differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS) setup. This allows one to correct photo-thermal deflection due to the local fluctuations refraction index of the air. For this purpose, using an unbalanced beam splitter, a small fraction of the collected DOAS signal is imaged onto a low-cost CCD camera using a biconvex lens, while the other portion of the signal is coupled into a fiber optic for trace gas detection. By monitoring the registered signal at the CCD camera, a feedback mechanism acting on the transversal position of the lens is able to compensate an arbitrary transversal displacement of the collected signal at the focal plane of the receiver telescope, allowing an optimal coupling into the optical fiber. © 2012 Optical Society of America.