Feasibility study for rocket ozone measurements in the 50 to 80 km region using a chemiluminescent technique
A study has been conducted to determine the feasibility of increasing sensitivity for ozone detection. The detection technique employed is the chemiluminescent reaction of ozone with a rhodamine-B impregnated disk. Previously achieved sensitivities are required to be increased by a factor of about 20 to permit measurements at altitudes of 80 km. Sensitivity was increased by using a more sensitive photomultiplier tube, by increasing the gas velocity past the disk, by different disk preparation techniques, and by using reflective coatings in the disk chamber and on the uncoated side of the glass disk. Reflective coatings provided the largest sensitivity increase. The sum of all these changes was a sensitivity increased by an estimated factor of 70, more than sufficient to permit measurement of ambient ozone concentrations at altitudes of 80 km.