Remote single-ended measurements of atmospheric temperature and humidity at 177 μm using a continuously tunable source

Simultaneous remote measurements of temperature and humidity using a narrow-linewidth, continuously tunable, LiNbO(3) optical parametric oscillator as a transmitter source are reported. Relative measurement errors of 1.0 degrees C for temperature and better than 1% for humidity over a 45-sec averaging time are observed. The absolute accuracy is limited by the accuracy of available spectroscopic data.