The recent availability of thermoelectrically cooled pulsed and continuous wave quantum and inter-band cascade lasers in the mid-infrared spectral region has led to significant improvements and new developments in chemical sensing techniques using in-situ laser absorption spectroscopy for plasma diagnostic purposes. The aim of this article is therefore two-fold: (i) to summarize the challenges which arise in the application of quantum cascade lasers in such environments, and, (ii) to provide an overview of recent spectroscopic results (encompassing cavity enhanced methods) obtained in different kinds of plasma used in both research and industry.
Keywords: 07.57.-c; 42.55.Px; 42.62.-b; 52.70.Kz; 82.33.-z; absorption spectroscopy; cavity enhanced spectroscopy; chemical sensing; infrared laser; plasma diagnostics; quantum cascade laser.