Calibration of an FT-IR Spectrometer for Ambient Air Monitoring Using PLS

Abstract

The objective of this work has been to develop a robust calibration method for simultaneous multigas detection with a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) system. Calibration models for the identification and quantification of 23 gases in the presence of high concentrations of background gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane have been obtained for an FT-IR instrument with 0.7-cm⁻¹ resolution. The calibration models have been tested on a breadboard instrument for trace gas measurement in manned space missions. The results show that FT-IR combined with multivariate methods such as partial least-squares (PLS) and proper pretreatment of the infrared spectra used in calibration is well suited for this purpose. A procedure for baseline drift compensation has been introduced to make the system insensitive to baseline drift and variations in transmittance. This baseline drift compensation also reduces the need for background measurements. Further, a procedure for incorporating a priori information about the instrument signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the absorption strength of interfering absorption lines has been developed. Indoor air monitoring and industrial process monitoring are other possible application areas for these techniques. Parts of this work have been performed in a project for the European Space Agency (ESA) in cooperation with Kayser-Threde GmbH and Daimler-Benz Aerospace, Dornier GmbH.