T-type differential Helmholtz photoacoustic cell with microphone array for simultaneous multi-gas monitoring at ppb level
摘要
Multi-gas detection plays an important role in the fields of industrial safety and environmental protection. Currently, achieving simultaneous and high-precision detection of multiple gases faces many challenges. To solve this problem, a T-type differential Helmholtz photoacoustic (PA) cell integrated with an 8-microphone array was developed. The specially designed T-type differential Helmholtz structure enables signal enhancement and noise suppression. Furthermore, through the signal superposition and differential effects among the eight-microphone symmetrical array, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is improved by ∼3.64 times compared with the single-microphone configuration, achieving high-sensitivity gas detection at the ppb level. The developed sensor was used to simultaneously measure two typical gases (CH4 and C2H2). Experimental results show that the sensor has excellent linearity, high stability, and remarkable sensitivity, achieving a limit of detection (LoD) of 402 ppb for CH4 with a normalized noise equivalent absorption (NNEA) coefficient of 4.18×10−9 cm−1·W·Hz−1/2, and a LoD of 254 ppb for C2H2 with a NNEA coefficient of 1.52×10−9 cm−1·W·Hz−1/2. Therefore, this novel and compact gas measurement device is expected to play an important role in fields such as industrial safety monitoring and environmental pollution control.