Chinese researchers develop dual polarization sensor to expand carbon dioxide detection

Phys.org reported that researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a carbon dioxide sensor that combines high sensitivity with a broader measurement range. The project was led by Zhang Zhirong of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science. The findings were published in the journal Sensors and Actuators. [1]

According to Phys.org, the device relies on dual-polarization, single-cavity cavity ring-down spectroscopy, a technique known as CRDS. The sensor operates by measuring two distinct types of polarized light inside a single optical cavity. This design allows the instrument to detect carbon dioxide at both low and high concentrations. [1]

Optical measurement innovations have featured in previous sensing research. As FTMQ Science reported earlier, physicists in Germany led by Florian Schall at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics placed nitrogen-vacancy diamond inside a laser cavity. That technique achieved maximum optical contrast for magnetic field detection by measuring changes in infrared laser intensity instead of fluorescence. [2]