Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pelini, Jacopo, Russo, Stefano Dello, Zhang, Chenghong, Wang, Zhen, Galli, Iacopo, Pastor, Pablo Cancio, Canino, Maria Concetta, Roncaglia, Alberto, Akikusa, Naota, Ren, Wei, de Cumis, Mario Siciliani, De Natale, Paolo, Borri, Simone
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.02026
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866909981637345280
author Pelini, Jacopo
Russo, Stefano Dello
Zhang, Chenghong
Wang, Zhen
Galli, Iacopo
Pastor, Pablo Cancio
Canino, Maria Concetta
Roncaglia, Alberto
Akikusa, Naota
Ren, Wei
de Cumis, Mario Siciliani
De Natale, Paolo
Borri, Simone
author_facet Pelini, Jacopo
Russo, Stefano Dello
Zhang, Chenghong
Wang, Zhen
Galli, Iacopo
Pastor, Pablo Cancio
Canino, Maria Concetta
Roncaglia, Alberto
Akikusa, Naota
Ren, Wei
de Cumis, Mario Siciliani
De Natale, Paolo
Borri, Simone
contents Molecules are emerging as new benchmark for metrology and fundamental physics research, driving the demand for spectroscopic techniques combining high sensitivity and resolution. Photoacoustic spectroscopy has proven to combine high sensitivity with appealing features like compactness, wavelength-independent and background-free detection. To date, photoacoustic sensing has mostly been focused on high-pressure applied trace-gas analysis, while accessing the low-pressure regime has been considered not compatible with efficient acoustic wave propagation. However, sensing gas samples at low pressure is the key to get access to high-resolution spectroscopy. Here, we demonstrate that sub-Doppler saturation spectroscopy can be performed on low-pressure trace gases in a cavity-enhanced photoacoustic sensor with mW-level mid-infrared radiation. Moreover, we show that the same setup can be operated at higher pressure, enabling trace-gas detection with 5 parts-per-billion sensitivity with a laser power as low as 35 microwatts. This allows to extend the unique advantages of the photoacoustic technique to metrology and fundamental physics and provides the mid-infrared with a cost-effective, flexible tool combining high sensitivity and resolution.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_02026
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Sub-doppler trace-gas photoacoustic spectroscopy
Pelini, Jacopo
Russo, Stefano Dello
Zhang, Chenghong
Wang, Zhen
Galli, Iacopo
Pastor, Pablo Cancio
Canino, Maria Concetta
Roncaglia, Alberto
Akikusa, Naota
Ren, Wei
de Cumis, Mario Siciliani
De Natale, Paolo
Borri, Simone
Optics
Applied Physics
Molecules are emerging as new benchmark for metrology and fundamental physics research, driving the demand for spectroscopic techniques combining high sensitivity and resolution. Photoacoustic spectroscopy has proven to combine high sensitivity with appealing features like compactness, wavelength-independent and background-free detection. To date, photoacoustic sensing has mostly been focused on high-pressure applied trace-gas analysis, while accessing the low-pressure regime has been considered not compatible with efficient acoustic wave propagation. However, sensing gas samples at low pressure is the key to get access to high-resolution spectroscopy. Here, we demonstrate that sub-Doppler saturation spectroscopy can be performed on low-pressure trace gases in a cavity-enhanced photoacoustic sensor with mW-level mid-infrared radiation. Moreover, we show that the same setup can be operated at higher pressure, enabling trace-gas detection with 5 parts-per-billion sensitivity with a laser power as low as 35 microwatts. This allows to extend the unique advantages of the photoacoustic technique to metrology and fundamental physics and provides the mid-infrared with a cost-effective, flexible tool combining high sensitivity and resolution.
title Sub-doppler trace-gas photoacoustic spectroscopy
topic Optics
Applied Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.02026