Teledyne 9110E - Nitrogen Oxides Analyzer - Manual (Page 176)

Theory of Operation Model 9110E Instruction Manual
162 M9110E Rev B
Figure 10-3: Reaction Cell with PMT Tube
10.1.3.2. Optical Filter
Another critical component in the method by which your M9110E detects
chemiluminescence is the optical filter that lies between the reaction cell and the PMT
(Figure 10-2). This filter is a high pass filter that is only transparent to wavelengths of light
above 645 nm. In conjunction with the response characteristics of the PMT, this filter
creates a very narrow window of wavelengths of light to which the M9110E will respond
(Figure 10-1).
The narrow band of sensitivity allows the M9110E to ignore extraneous light and radiation
that might interfere with the M9110E’s measurement. For instance, some oxides of sulfur
can also undergo chemiluminescence when in contact with O
3
but emit light at shorter
wavelengths (usually around 260 nm to 480 nm).
10.1.4. Auto Zero
Inherent in the operation of any PMT is a certain amount of noise. This is due to a variety of
factors such as black body infrared radiation given off by the metal components of the
reaction cell, unit to unit variations in the PMT units and even the constant universal
background radiation that surrounds us at all times. In order to reduce this amount of noise
and offset, the PMT is kept at a constant 7° C (45° F) by a thermo-electric cooler (TEC).
While this intrinsic noise and offset is significantly reduced by cooling the PMT, it is not
eradicated. To determine how much noise remains, the M9110E diverts the sample gas flow
directly to the vacuum manifold without passing the reaction cell once every minute for
about 5 seconds (Figure 10-4). During this time, only O
3
is present in the reaction cell,
effectively turning off the chemiluminescence reaction. Once the chamber is completely
dark, the M9110E records the output of the PMT and keeps a running average of these
AZERO values. This average offset value is subtracted from the raw PMT readings while the
instrument is measuring NO and NO
X
to arrive at a auto-zero corrected reading.