Lithium niobate-enhanced laser photoacoustic spectroscopy

Abstract

In this paper, the photoacoustic spectroscopy technique based on lithium niobate crystals is initially reported, to our knowledge. A novel dual-cantilever tuning fork structure and new electrodes have been designed using Y-cut 128{\deg} blackened lithium niobate wafers. The tuning fork, with a resonant frequency of only 10.46 kHz and a prong gap of 1 mm, is engineered to achieve superior performance in photoacoustic spectroscopy. In the demonstration experiment, acetylene was detected using a 1.53 um semiconductor laser, achieving a detection limit of about 9 ppb within a one-second integration time.