Photoacoustic IR Spectroscopy

Photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) provides a way to obtain UV,

visible, and IR absorption spectra of solids, semisolids, or turbid
liquids.16 Acquisition of spectra for these materials by ordinary
methods is usually difficult at best and often impossible because
of light scattering and reflection.
The Photoacoustic Effect
PAS is based on a light absorption effect that was first investigated in the 1880s
by Alexander Graham Bell and others. This
effect is observed when a gas in a closed cell is irradiated with a
chopped beam of radiation of a wavelength that is absorbed by
the gas. The absorbed radiation causes periodic heating of the
gas, which in turn results in regular pressure fluctuations within
the chamber. If the chopping rate lies in the acoustical frequency
range, these pulses of pressure can be detected by a sensitive
microphone. The photoacoustic effect has been used since the
turn of the century for the analysis of absorbing gases and has
recently taken on new importance for this purpose with the
advent of tunable IR lasers as sources. Of greater importance,
however, has been the use of the photoacoustic effect for obtaining absorption
spectra of solids and turbid liquids.