A
photo acoustic trace gas detector (100) is provided for detecting a concentration of a
trace gas in a gas mixture. The
detector (100) comprises a
light source (101) for producing a
light beam and a light modulator (103) for modulating the
light beam into a series of light pulses at a chopping frequency for generating sound
waves in the gas mixture. The amplitude of the sound
waves is a measure of the concentration of the
trace gas. The
detector (100) further comprises an
optical cavity (104a, 104b) with the gas mixture. The
optical cavity (104a, 104b) amplifies the
light intensity of the light pulses. A
transducer (109) converts the sound
waves into electrical signals. A feed back loop (110, 111, 113, 114) regulates a ratio of a length of the
optical cavity (104a, 104b) and a
wavelength of the
light beam for amplifying the
light intensity of the light pulses in the optical cavity (104a, 104b). The
feedback loop (110, 111, 113, 114) comprises ratio modulating means (113, 114) for modulating the ratio at a modulation frequency, a photo detector (110) for measuring the
light intensity of the light pulses and adjusting means (111), coupled to the photo detector (100) and to the ratio modulating means (113, 114) for, in dependence of the measured light intensity, adjusting an average of the ratio. The chopping frequency is higher than the modulation frequency.