A variable-temperature cavity ring-down spectrometer with application to line shape analysis of CO 2 spectra in the 1600 nm region

We present a new cavity ring-down spectroscopy system which was developed for variable-temperature absorption measurements (220–290 K) of atmospheric gases. This laser spectrometer was developed in the framework of the NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 project to improve our understanding of line shape parameters for carbon dioxide and oxygen. The apparatus consists of a monolithic, fixed-mirror ring-down cavity within a temperature-regulated enclosure, which is interrogated by a tunable, single-frequency diode laser. We experimentally characterize and model the dependence of the spectrum detuning axis at each setpoint temperature, and show that absolute frequencies are stable to within 200 kHz over several hours, corresponding to temperature stabilities better than 1 mK. We measure the R16e (30013-0001) 12 C 16 O 2 transition and carry out multi-spectrum analyses using two line profiles incorporating speed-dependent (quadratic approximation) and Dicke narrowing (hard collision assumption) effects. The resulting broadening coefficient and temperature exponent are in excellent agreement (0.05% level) with previous high-resolution Fourier-transform spectroscopy measurements, and the speed dependent broadening parameter is within 3% of the theoretical value.