Patent ID: 8134127

Claim:
A gas leak imaging method, comprising: supplying a laser; modifying said laser to produce a non-laser incoherent light source, wherein said modifying comprises: replacing an output mirror of said laser with a transmitting window; and replacing a gaseous lasing medium of said laser with a resonance gas capable of emitting radiation that is in resonance with absorption lines of a target gas and wherein at least one wavelength is in the range of 10.5 to 10.7 microns; providing a light beam from said non-laser incoherent light source, said light beam having said at least one wavelength that is absorbable by said target gas; providing a thermal imaging camera having a field of view and for imaging absorption of said at least one wavelength by said target gas; and containing said non-laser incoherent light source and said thermal imaging camera in a handheld housing.