Compact Hydrofluorocarbon Sensor

The Engine Test Facility at Arnold Engineering Development Center requires a remote sensor for detecting leaks of the refrigerants used to cool air flows. Under Department of Energy funding, Deacon Research has developed an optical sensor based on diode lasers for a very similar requirement: the detection of methane leaks in coal mines. To adapt this sensor for the detection of refrigerants, laser light at a longer wavelength must be used. Deacon Research has developed a new nonlinear optical material which can efficiently produce the requires longer-wavelength radiation using frequency mixing with diode lasers as the pump sources. During Phase I we will build a difference frequency mixer, measure its performance, and use the results to predict the performance of an optimized mixer to be built in Phase II. At the same time, we will calculate the performance to be expected from a a sensor system (to be built in Phase I) containing the optimized Phase II mixer. The result will be a remote sensor for refrigeration leaks which can be hand-carried to any desired observation point within the Engine Test Facility.