A novel,ultra-sensitive instrument for measurement of aerosol parameters

Informed Diagnostics, Inc. (ID), proposes to develop a novel continuous wave cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CW-CRDS) instrument to measure the single-scatter albedo (SSA) of aerosols and clouds. The instrument will measure both the scattering and the extinction coefficients, and will thus be able to determine the single-scatter albedo directly in an integral, compact unit. In Phase I, we will demonstrate the feasibility of our design through a working desktop prototype. If funded in Phase II, we will design, build, test, and deliver an Advanced Prototype to NASA for testing that will be robust enough to use aboard aircraft to make in situ measurements. It will represent a significant advance in the state of the art in atmospheric aerosol measurements, employing an internal effective path length of several kilometers (compared with 20 m, the current state of the art). Phase III will result in a commercial instrument. Besides the importance of these measurements in studying and modeling the climatic effects of aerosols and clouds, we anticipate commercial applications in the monitoring of pollution, air quality, and industrial clean rooms. We also see a large potential market for monitors for domestic security agencies to detect aerosol dispersed biological warfare agents.