Teaching Labs
Our affordable, research-grade spectroscopy systems give students hands-on experience with equipment that will carry them through their professional careers in academia and industry. Working with our modular, reconfigurable components not only facilitates an understanding of system design – it promotes the creativity and innovation that form the heart of science.
The Innovations in Educational Spectroscopy Grant Program provides resources to public and private teaching institutions. The program uses spectroscopy as a general-purpose measurement tool to promote the use of modern instrumentation and technology in science and engineering curricula.
Featured:
Ocean FX with Wi-Fi Communications
Use Wi-Fi to wirelessly connect the spectrometer directly to your students’ PCs or Windows tablets
Example Setup: VIS-NIR Reflection
Overview
Spectral reflectance measurements can compare objects of different colors or textures. Also, reflectance can reveal information about the material from which a sample is made, since light that is not reflected from a sample either is absorbed due to its chemical composition, or scattered or transmitted. Very smooth surfaces like mirrors have high specular reflection, which means all the incident light is reflected in the same direction (angle of reflection = angle of incidence). Rough or matte surfaces have diffuse reflection, which means the incident light gets scattered in all directions. Most surfaces are in-between, with a combination of specular and diffuse reflectance.
Spectrometer
Our USB2000+, USB4000 and HR2000+ series spectrometers are good choices for reflection, but in this example we’ve selected a Jaz spectrometer. Jaz has the advantage of keeping the system footprint compact (its modules stack vertically) and being portable enough for field work (no PC is necessary).
We’ve selected a single-channel Jaz spectrometer with an integrated VIS-NIR light source module. The spectrometer is configured with Grating #3 (350-1000 nm), a DET2B-350-1000 nm detector with order-sorting filter and a 25 µm slit. Because Jaz has a replaceable slit design, you have the option of selecting slits of different widths as application needs change.
Sampling Optics
A reflection probe is great for making quick measurements and for applications where a small spot size needs to be sampled, and can measure either specular or diffuse reflectance. The downside is that it illuminates and detects from the same direction, so it sees only part of the reflected light. Measurements made with a reflection probe are relative measurements.
The illustration here shows a 400 µm reflection probe (QR400-7-VIS-NIR) and the RPH-1 probe holder. The holder positions the probe at either 45° for diffuse reflection or 90° for specular reflection. For curved surfaces, we recommend substituting one of our CSH holders for the RPH-1.
For illumination, the Jaz-VIS-NIR light source module is installed in the Jaz stack and provides output from 360-1100 nm. To complete the setup, we added a WS-1-SL reflectance standard as a reference and OceanView spectroscopy software.
| JAZ-COMBO | Jaz spectrometer system comprises a single spectrometer channel and an onboard microprocessor with display in a single unit. The spectrometer is configured with a 600 l/mm grating set to 350-1000 nm, 25 µm entrance slit and order-sorting filter. |
| JAZ-VIS-NIR | Tungsten halogen light source (360-1100 nm) module for Jaz platform; provides up to 10,000 hours of bulb life |
| QR400-7-VIS-NIR | Premium-grade reflection probe (6-around-1 fiber design), optimized for VIS-NIR response, 2 m length |
| RPH-1 | Fixture for holding 1/4″ (6.35 mm) diameter reflection probes |
| WS-1-SL | Diffuse reflectance standard |
| OceanView | Spectroscopy software |
