A MEMS modulator-based dual-channel mid-infrared laser heterodyne radiometer for simultaneous remote sensing of atmospheric CH4, H2O and N2O

The performance of a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) modulator-based dual-channel mid-infrared laser heterodyne radiometer (MIR-LHR) was demonstrated in ground-based solar occultation mode for the first time. A MEMS mirror was employed as an alternative modulator to the traditional mechanical chopper, which makes the system more stable and compact. Two inter-band cascade lasers (ICL) centered at 3.53 mu m and 3.93 mu m, were employed as local oscillators (LO) to probe absorption lines of methane (CH4), water vapor (H2O) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The system stability greater than 1000 s was evaluated by Allan variance. The experimental MIR-LHR spectra (acquired at Hefei, China, on February 24th 2022) of two channels were compared and were in good agreement with simulation spectra from atmospheric transmission modeling. The mixing ratio of CH4, H2O and N2O were determined to be similar to 1.906 ppm, 3069 ppm and similar to 338 ppb, respectively. The reported MEMS modulator-based dual-channel MIR-LHR in this manuscript has great potential to be a portable and high spectral resolution instrument for remote sensing of multi-component gases in the atmospheric column. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement