TY - INPR A1 - Pangerl, Jonas A1 - Moser, Elisabeth A1 - Müller, Max A1 - Weigl, Stefan A1 - Jobst, Simon A1 - Rück, Thomas A1 - Bierl, Rudolf A1 - Matysik, Frank-Michael T1 - A Highly Sensitive Acetone and Ethanol Quantum Cascade Laser Based Photoacoustic Sensor: Characterization and Multi-Component Spectra Recording in Synthetic Breath T2 - SSRN Electronic Journal N2 - Trace gas analysis in breath is challenging due to the vast number of different components. We present a highly sensitive quantum cascade laser based photoacoustic setup for breath analysis. Scanning the range between 8260 and 8270 nm with a spectral resolution of 48 pm, we are able to quantify acetone and ethanol within a typical breath matrix containing water and CO2. We photoacoustically acquired spectra within this region of mid-infra-red light and prove that those spectra do not suffer from non-spectral interferences. The purely additive behavior of a breath sample spectrum was verified by comparing it with the independently acquired single component spectra using Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. A previously presented simulation approach is improved and an error attribution study is presented. With a 3σ detection limit of 6.5 ppbV in terms of ethanol and 250 pptV regarding acetone, our system is among the best performing presented so far. KW - Photoacoustic spectroscopy KW - quantum cascade laser KW - spectral simulation KW - breath analysis KW - acetone Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4305376 PB - Elsevier ER -