Progress in cantilever enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy

The photoacoustic spectroscopy as a zero background technique is one of the most promising methods of fulfilling the growing demands for the selective online gas detection. In this study, recent progress in the cantilever enhanced photoacoustic detection is summarized. The novel technique bases on the use of an interferometric cantilever pressure sensor instead of a condenser microphone. The comparisons with other photoacoustic methods reveal at least an order of magnitude enhancement to the sensitivity. Several improvements based on the accurate modeling of the system are under work and some of the preliminary results are presented. The basic theory of the modeling is also presented and compared with the measurements. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.