Frank Schael

Antireflection-coated blue GaN laser diodes in an external cavity and Doppler-free indium absorption spectroscopy

Commercially available GaN-based laser diodes were antireflection coated in our laboratory and operated in an external cavity in a Littrow configuration. A total tuning range of typically 4 nm and an optical output power of up to 30 mW were observed after optimization of the external cavity. The linewidth was measured with a beterodyne technique, and 0.8 MHz at a sweep time of 50 ms was obtained. The mode-hop-free tuning range was more than 50 GHz. We demonstrated the performance of the laser by detecting the saturated absorption spectrum of atomic indium at 410 nm, allowing observation of well-resolved Lamb dips.

Quantifying Ethanol Content of Beer Using Interpretive Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

On the basis of absorption measurements in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral range, a new method for the quantification of the ethanol content of beer is presented. Instead of the multivariate calibration models most commonly employed in NIR spectroscopic works, we use interpretive difference spectroscopy: Two wavelengths are selected according to the assignment of the absorption bands of the main substances of content of beer in the NIR region, and the difference between the absorbances at these wavelengths is used for ethanol quantification. Absorption spectra of the dominating beer ingredients are discussed and the calibration procedure with ethanol/water mixtures is shown. Robustness against the carbohydrate content of beer samples was demonstrated by analyzing solutions of ethanol and maltose in water. Validation of the method was performed with various beer samples with an ethanol concentration range between 0.5 and 7.7 vol %. The pertinent advantage of the procedure developed in this work is the indication that the results are independent from seasonal variations of the ingredients, which is of high interest for products with natural ingredients such as beer.

Spectroscopy in heterogenous media and applications for bioprocess and environmental monitoring

Diffuse reflectance measurements and photon migration studies with near infrared (NIR) diode lasers were employed to elucidate experimental methods for determining absorption and scattering coefficients and species concentrations in heterogenous media. Measurements were performed at a number of wavelengths utilizing several laser sources some of which were widely tunable. In order to establish the applicability of simple photon migration models derived from radiation transport theory and to check the experimental boundary conditions of our measurements, simple light scattering solutions (such as suspensions of titanium dioxide, latex particles, and solutions of milk powder) containing dyes (such as nile blue, isosulfan blue) were investigated. The results obtained from diffuse-reflectance studies at different sourcedetector distances were in accordance with predictions from simple photon diffusion theory. Applications of reflectance measurements for monitoring of cell growth during fermentation processes and for in-situ investigations of soils are presented.

Optical sensing with photon density waves: Investigation of model mediaPresented at the annual meeting of the Deutsche Bunsen-Gesellschaft fr Physikalische Chemie, Kiel, Germany, May 29?31, 2003.

Investigations with frequency domain photon density waves allow elucidation of absorption and scattering properties of turbid media. The temporal and spatial propagation of intensity modulated light with frequencies up to more than 1 GHz can be described by the P1 approximation to the Boltzmann transport equation. In this study, we establish requirements for the appropriate choice of turbid model media and characterize mixtures of isosulfan blue as absorber and polystyrene beads as scatterer. For these model media, the independent determination of absorption and reduced scattering coefficients over large absorber and scatterer concentration ranges is demonstrated with a frequency domain photon density wave spectrometer employing intensity and phase measurements at various modulation frequencies.

Investigation of the optical diffusion coefficient in turbid media by the added-absorber method

The dependence of the optical diffusion coefficient D on the absorption coefficient (mu) a was investigated. The spatial intensity distribution of light emitted by a low frequency intensity-modulated diode laser was studied in aqueous suspensions of pmma latex beads. The absorption coefficient of the suspensions was gradually increased by adding the dye isosulfan blue (isb) up to a ratio between the absorption and the effective scattering coefficient of the mixture of 3.6. Conventional transmission measurements showed that the absorption coefficient of the mixture increases linearly in the entire concentration range employed.The measurements were evaluated in the framework of photon diffusion theory.The results obtained indicated that for the suspensions investigated the optical diffusion coefficient does depend on absorption.