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Sensitive measurements of stable carbon isotopes of CO2 with wavelength modulation spectroscopy near 2 μm

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Abstract

We performed highly sensitive measurements of stable carbon isotopes of CO2 using wavelength modulation spectroscopy with a distributed feedback laser diode in the 2-μm wavelength range. Ro-vibrational transitions, which belong to the different combination bands, were selected to measure the 13CO2/12CO2 carbon isotope ratio. The δ 13C value was determined through the signals obtained in a Herriott-type multipass cell with an optical path length of 29.9 m. The limit of detection for CO2 using our measurement system was 16±1 parts per billion by volume at the strongest absorption peak that is assigned to the 2ν 1+ν 3 R(16) line within the laser emitting frequency region. The 10-h long term precision was a δ 13C standard deviation of 0.24‰ (1σ) with the best suited line pairs of 12CO2 and 13CO2 and with careful temperature and pressure control in the cell. The 3-min response and high precision of this measurement allows for precise continuous measurements of stable carbon isotopes in ambient CO2.

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  1. K. Tanaka & K. Tonokura

    Present address: Department of Environment Systems, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8563, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Science Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    K. Tanaka & K. Tonokura

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  1. K. Tanaka
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  2. K. Tonokura
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Correspondence to K. Tonokura.

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Tanaka, K., Tonokura, K. Sensitive measurements of stable carbon isotopes of CO2 with wavelength modulation spectroscopy near 2 μm. Appl. Phys. B 105, 463–469 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-011-4666-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-011-4666-1

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