Analog detection for cavity lifetime spectroscopy

US6233052A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University · US

Inventors

• Richard N. Zare · Stanford, US
• Charles Charbel Harb · Palo Alto, US
• Barbara Paldus · Atherton, US
• Thomas G. Spence · Palo Alto, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 19, 1999
• Grant date: May 15, 2001
• Expiry date: Mar 19, 2019

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01J3/42
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An analog detection system for determining a ring-down rate or decay rate 1/.tau. of an exponentially decaying ring-down beam issuing from a lifetime or ring-down cavity during a ring-down phase. Alternatively, the analog detection system determines a build-up rate of an exponentially growing beam issuing from the cavity during a ring-up phase. The analog system can be employed in continuous wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CW CRDS) and pulsed CRDS (P CRDS) arrangements utilizing any type of ring-down cavity including ring-cavities and linear cavities.