A single-beam photothermal interferometer for in situ measurements of aerosol light absorption
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Publication date
2020
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01A - Journal article
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Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
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13
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12
Pages / Duration
7097-7111
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Copernicus
Place of publication / Event location
Göttingen
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Abstract
We have developed a novel single-beam photothermal interferometer and present here its application for the measurement of aerosol light absorption. The use of only a single laser beam allows for a compact optical set-up and significantly easier alignment compared to standard dual-beam photothermal interferometers, making it ideal for field measurements. Due to a unique configuration of the reference interferometer arm, light absorption by aerosols can be determined directly – even in the presence of light-absorbing gases. The instrument can be calibrated directly with light-absorbing gases, such as NO2, and can be used to calibrate other light absorption instruments. The detection limits (1σ) for absorption for 10 and 60 s averaging times were determined to be 14.6 and 7.4 Mm−1, respectively, which for a mass absorption cross section of 10 m2 g−1 leads to equivalent black carbon concentration detection limits of 1460 and 740 ng m−3, respectively. The detection limit could be reduced further by improvements to the isolation of the instrument and the signal detection and processing schemes employed.
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1867-8548
Language
English
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Yes
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Published
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Peer review of the complete publication
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Diamond
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Citation
Visser, B., Röhrbein, J., Steigmeier, P., Drinovec, L., Močnik, G., & Weingartner, E. (2020). A single-beam photothermal interferometer for in situ measurements of aerosol light absorption. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 13(12), 7097–7111. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-7097-2020