Interferometrically enhanced intensity and wavelength modulation in tunable diode laser spectroscopy

Tunable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS) is a measurement technique with high spectral resolution. It is based on tuning the emission wavelength of a semiconductor laser by altering its current and/or its temperature. However, adjusting the wavelength leads to a change in emission intensity. For applications that rely on modulated radiation, the challenge is to isolate the true spectrum from the influence of extraneous instrumental contributions, particularly residual intensity and wavelength modulation. We present a novel approach combining TDLS with interferometric techniques, exemplified by the use of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer, to enable the separation of intensity and wavelength modulation. With interferometrically enhanced intensity modulation, we reduced the residual wavelength modulation by 83%, and with interferometrically enhanced wavelength modulation, we almost completely removed the residual derivative of the signal. A reduction in residual wavelength modulation enhances the spectral resolution of intensity-modulated measurements, whereas a reduction in residual intensity modulation improves the signal-to-noise ratio and the sensitivity of wavelength-modulated measurements.