Duration: 1994 to 2003

Diode lasers, which have become widely used in optical communications, also offer fascinating possibilities for rapid in-situ process analysis. At the Institute of Physical Chemistry at Heidelberg University (PCI), the specific advantages of diode lasers were utilized for rapid real-time gas analysis to monitor and control industrial processes aimed at reducing pollutant emissions. Of particular interest in environmental analysis is the sampling-free detection of trace gases in the open atmosphere. For example, water in the stratosphere is presumably produced from methane as an effective greenhouse gas. To understand the formation and effects of these greenhouse gases, methane and water were measured in the stratosphere up to an altitude of 32 km using a newly developed balloon-borne TDLAS (Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy) spectrometer.

Head of the Research Unit:

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wolfrum

Staff:

Dr. Andreas Schulz

Address:

Institute of Physical Chemistry at Heidelberg University
Im Neuenheimer Feld 253
69120 Heidelberg
Phone 0 62 21/54 84 63
Fax 0 62 21/54 42 55