Abstract. We have developed a novel single-beam photothermal interferometer and present here its application for the measurement of aerosol light absorption. The use of only a single laser beam allows for a compact optical set up and significantly easier alignment compared to standard dual-beam photothermal interferometers, making it ideal for field measurements. Due to a unique configuration of the reference interferometer arm, light absorption by aerosols can be determined directly even in the presence of light absorbing gases. The instrument can be calibrated directly with light absorbing gases, such as NO2, and can be used to calibrate other light absorption instruments. The detection limits (1σ) for absorption for ten and sixty second averaging times were determined to be 14.6 Mm−1 and 7.4 Mm−1, respectively, which for a mass absorption cross-section of 10 m2 g−1 leads to equivalent black carbon concentration detection limits of 1460 ng m−3 and 740 ng m−3, respectively. The detection limit could be reduced further by improvements to the isolation of the instrument and the signal detection and processing schemes employed.