A Review of Signal Enhancement and Noise Reduction Techniques for Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy

: Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), as a noninvasive spectroscopic method, permits high-resolution, high-sensitivity, fast, in situ absorption measurements of atomic and molecular species and narrow spectral features in gaseous, solid, and liquid phases. Advances in new diode laser sources and laser spectroscopic techniques generally have triggered an increasing application of TDLAS in various disciplines (for example, atmospheric environmental monitoring, chemical analysis, industrial process control, medical diagnostics and combustion monitoring, etc.) over the last four decades. This article reviews some important developments in TDLAS, from its basic principles as a spectroscopic tool to the demonstration of gas absorption measurements, emphasizing signal enhancement and noise reduction techniques developed for improving current TDLAS performance.