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NO₂ Sensor for Urban and Regional Air Quality Monitoring--NovaWave Technologies, 40 Burgoyne Court , San Mateo , CA   94402-4051; 650-341-3948, www.novawavetech.com
Dr. Joshua B. Paul, Principal Investigator, jbpaul68@yahoo.com 
Dr. James Scherer, Business Official, jimscherer@sbcglobal.net 
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-03ER83733
Amount:  $99,994

In order to understand the chemistry of air pollution and ozone depletion, the EPA recently mandated a network of urban and regional air quality stations for monitoring NO₂ .  This project will develop compact and reliable sensors for compliance with this mandate. The approach will utilize state-of-the-art fiber laser technology with advanced, nonlinear frequency doubling crystals to produce a high power laser source.  This source will be used in conjunction with laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy to produce a sensitive and accurate NO₂ monitor.  In Phase I, a high power, rugged, frequency-tunable fiber laser source will be developed and frequency doubled into the 530 nm wavelength region.  This source will be used to perform laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy on ambient and calibrated air samples to determine the accuracy and precision by which NO₂ can be detected using this approach.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee:  The instrument should be responsive to the recent EPA mandate for installing a large number of NO₂ sensors at urban and regional locations in the near future.  Commercial uses for the technology include trace gas monitoring, pollution monitoring, and industrial process monitoring.