Patent ID: 7683357

Claim:
A method of monitoring one or more gas species at one or more measurement points, comprising: directing an input signal from a laser through a fiber amplifier to obtain an amplified signal at a greater power level than the input signal; directing the amplified signal through a variable optical attenuation system to obtain an attenuated signal at a selected power level; directing the attenuated signal through a gas species detection zone including at least one circuit, wherein the circuit comprises: a launch module that receives the attenuated signal from the variable optical attenuation system and collimates and delivers the signal through a measurement point, the measurement point including a gaseous fluid; and a receiver module that receives the signal emerging from the measurement point and includes a detector that processes the signal from the measurement point so as to obtain a measured signal that correlates with the presence of at least one gas species within the gaseous fluid; facilitating communication between a processor, the detector of the receiver module and the variable optical attenuation system, wherein the processor receives information regarding the measured signal; and via the processor, selectively controlling the variable optical attenuation system based upon the measured signal; and splitting the amplified signal into a plurality of split signals via a splitter device, wherein the gas species detection zone includes a plurality of circuits, each circuit receiving a split and attenuated signal so as to facilitate selective measurements of gas species at a plurality of measurement points.