Quartz enhanced photoacoustic leak sensor for mechatronic components

摘要

We report the first demonstration of a leak sensor based on a mid-IR quartz-enhanced photoacoustic (QEPAS) spectroscopic technique. A QEPAS sensor was integrated in a vacuum seal test station for mechatronic components. The laser source is a quantum cascade laser emitting at 10.56 μm, resonant with a strong absorption band of sulfur hexafluoride (SF_6), which was selected as target gas for leak detection. The minimum detectable concentration of the QEPAS sensor is 6.9 ppb with an integration time of 1 s. This detection sensitivity allowed to measure SF_6 leak flows as low as 3×10~(-5) standard cm~3.