Patent ID: 7301148

Claim:
A system for remotely detecting at least one constituent of a gas, comprising: a spectrally sensitive receiver positioned at a receiver location, said receiver including an optical component defining a field of view; and a first extended source of broadband infrared radiation positioned at a first source location separated from the receiver location, the first source comprising a surface and a heating component thermally coupled to the surface; wherein the heating component is configured to heat the surface to a temperature above ambient temperature; and wherein the first source and the receiver are oriented such that at least a portion of the surface of the first source is in the field of view; wherein the receiver is operable to collect spectral infrared absorption data representative of a first gas present between the first source and the receiver, the heating component being operatively coupled to a temperature controller; and further comprising a temperature sensor operative to sense ambient temperature, wherein the temperature controller is operative to control the heating component such that the heating component heats the surface to a substantially uniform temperature that is a predetermined number of degrees higher than ambient temperature sensed by the temperature sensor.