Extremely low N2O concentrations in the springtime stratosphere at McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Quantum Cascade Laser Measurements of Line Intensities, N2-, O2- and Ar- Collisional Broadening Coefficients of N2O in the ν3 Band Near 4.5 µm

This study deals with precise measurements of absolute line intensities, N2-, O2- and Ar- collisional broadening coefficients of N2O in the P-branch of the ν3 vibrational band near 4.5 µm. Collisional broadening coefficients of N2O-air are derived from the N2- and O2- broadening contributions by considering an ideal atmospheric composition. Studies are performed at room temperature for 10 rotational transitions over 2190-2202 cm(-1) spectral range using a distributed-feedback quantum cascade laser. To retrieve spectroscopic parameters for each individual transition, measured absorption line shape is simulated within Voigt and Galatry profiles. The obtained results compare well with previous experimental data available in the literature: the discrepancies being less than 4% for most of the probed transitions. The spectroscopic data reported here are very useful for the design of sensors used to monitor the abundance of N2O in earth's atmosphere.