Abstract. We have developed a fast, spatially direct scanning tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer (dTDLAS) that combines four polygon-mirror based scanning units with low-cost retro-reflective foils. With this instrument, tomographic measurements of absolute 2-D water vapour concentration profiles are possible without any calibration using a reference gas. A spatial area of 0.8 m × 0.8 m was covered, which allows for application in soil physics, where greenhouse gas emission from certain soil structures shall be monitored. The whole concentration field was measured with up to 2.5 Hz. In this paper, we present the setup and spectroscopic performance of the instrument regarding the influence of the polygon rotation speed and mode on the absorption signal. Homogeneous H2O distributions were measured and compared to a single channel, bi-static reference TDLAS spectrometer for validation of the instrument. Good accuracy and precision with errors of less than 6% of the absolute concentration and length and bandwidth normalized detection limits of up to 1.1 ppmv · m · √Hz−1 were achieved. The spectrometer is a robust and easy to set up instrument for tomographic reconstructions of 2-D-concentration fields that can be considered a good basis for future field measurements in environmental research.
Robust, spatially scanning, open-path TDLAS hygrometer using retro-reflective foils for fast tomographic 2-D water vapour concentration field measurements