Multiple amplitude wavelength modulation spectroscopy for concomitant measurement of pressure and concentration of methane

A novel technique based on multiple amplitude wavelength modulation spectroscopy (MA-WMS) for simultaneous measurement of $$\text {CH}_4$$ gas concentration and pressure was developed and validated both through simulation and experiment, showing good agreement. To capture the spectrum broadening caused by increasing pressure and concomitantly obtain the concentration at the sensor’s location, a laser centered at 1650.9 nm was subjected to multiple amplitude modulation depths while the $$2f_{m}$$ signal, normalized by the DC component (an invariant quantity under optical loss), was recorded. While the use of a single and fixed modulation can introduce an ambiguity, as different pairs of pressure and concentration can yield the same value, this ambiguity is eliminated by employing multiple amplitude modulations. In this approach, the intersection point of the three level curves can provide the local pressure and concentration. The proposed system was able to measure concentrations from 5% up to 45% and pressures from 0.25 atm up to 1.75 atm, with a maximum error of 2% in concentration and 0.06 atm in pressure, respectively. The system was also tested for attenuation insensitivity, demonstrating that measurements were not significantly affected for up to 10 dB applied optical loss.