Short-wave infrared super-continuum laers for natural gas leak detection, exploration, and other active remote sensing applications

A measurement system comprising:

• a light source configured to generate an output optical beam, comprising:
• a plurality of semiconductor sources configured to generate an input optical beam;
• a multiplexer configured to receive at least a portion of the input optical beam and to form an intermediate optical beam;
• and
• one or more fibers configured to receive at least a portion of the intermediate optical beam and to form the output optical beam, wherein the output optical beam comprises one or more optical wavelengths;
• a measurement apparatus configured to receive a received portion of the output optical beam and to deliver a delivered portion of the output optical beam to a sample, wherein the delivered portion of the output optical beam is configured to generate a spectroscopy output beam from the sample;
• and
• a receiver configured to receive at least a portion of the spectroscopy output beam and to process the portion of the spectroscopy output beam to generate an output signal;
• and
• wherein the light source and the receiver are remote from the sample, and wherein the output signal is based on a chemical composition of the sample.

A method of measuring, comprising:

• generating an output optical beam, comprising:
• generating an input optical beam from a plurality of semiconductor sources;
• multiplexing at least a portion of the input optical beam and forming an intermediate optical beam;
• and
• guiding at least a portion of the intermediate optical beam and forming the output optical beam, wherein the output optical beam comprises one or more optical wavelengths;
• receiving a received portion of the output optical beam and delivering a delivered portion of the output optical beam to a sample located remotely from the generated output optical beam;
• generating a spectroscopy output beam having a bandwidth of at least 10 nanometers from the sample, wherein the spectroscopy output beam comprises spectral features of hydrocarbons or organic compounds;
• receiving at least a portion of the spectroscopy output beam;
• and
• processing the portion of the spectroscopy output beam and generating an output signal, wherein the output signal is based on a chemical composition of the sample.