Types of spectrometers
10 Minute ReadIntroduction This post describes three simple demonstration spectrometers that the home experimenter can set up, with a minimum of optical elements, in order to get involved with examining spectra. These optical design demos are able to capture and record the spectrum of any light source. Whether it is a neon lamp, with its characteristic red […]
Three Simple “Demo” Spectrometers Read More »
7 Minute ReadIntroduction An optical table, or bench, is the optical equivalent of the very popular solderless prototyping breadboards that many electronics hobbyists regularly use to test and develop their electronic circuits. In fact the optical table has sometimes been referred to as an optical breadboard, although optical table or bench are the more conventional terms. But
A Homemade Optical Table Read More »
3 Minute ReadThe calibration of spectra in wavelength λ that you will see in these different posts has usually been performed with commercial “pencil-type” spectral lamps of mercury-argon Hg(Ar), krypton (Kr) and neon (Ne). These lamps use a continuous AC or DC discharge to excite the inert gases in the tubes and emit a series of narrow
Light Sources for Calibrating Spectrometers Read More »
4 Minute ReadIntroduction Modern spectrometers today, regardless of their size, employ sensitive linear CCD and CMOS sensors. The most popular sizes have 1024, 2048 and more recently 4096 pixels along the dispersion axis of the grating. Associated software automatically reads out a series of digitized values, each value corresponding to a single pixel element on the detector.
Spectrometer Calibration Read More »
13 Minute ReadIntroduction The development of the spectroscope over the last 160 years since its invention has paralleled the evolution in technological advances. This is particularly the case for the last several decades as the development of more efficient electronic detectors have gradually replaced the photographic film. Much progress has been made in this area of detection.
Spectrometer Designs Read More »
4 Minute ReadIntroduction As its name implies, this spectrometer has a fixed diffraction grating. So the wavelength range available and the resolving power (the spectral resolution) are pre-determined during manufacture. Oriel (now Newport Corporation) used to offer 4 models with different wavelength ranges and resolutions for this spectrometer, but I am not sure if these are still
FICS -Fixed Imaging Compact Spectrograph Read More »
4 Minute ReadIntroduction MS125 This is a very versatile spectrograph that I have used over the years to record a variety of spectra from various emission sources, astronomical objects and other samples. When it is combined with a linear CCD detector such as the InstaSpec IV™ described here it becomes a sensitive and flexible spectroscopy system. The
MS125 and InstaSpec IV Combination Read More »
8 Minute ReadIntroduction This post describes some construction details for an improved version of the SGS spectrometer in what I called the MFSS or Multiple Fixed Slit Spectrograph. The design was intended to overcome several drawbacks of the original, in particular its weight and size: at over 3 kg and a length of over 40cm, this placed
Homemade Spectrometers (Part II) Read More »
7 Minute ReadA few years ago I built a couple of diffraction grating spectrographs. At that time I was a keen amateur astronomer with some degree of traditional photographic, as well as digital, imaging experience. I was hoping (no doubt optimistically and probably naively with hindsight) to connect a spectrometer to my telescope to record the spectra
Homemade Spectrometers (Part I) Read More »
2 Minute ReadIntroduction Several years ago I connected the MS125 spectrometer to a 12 inch Meade LX200 telescope to test its suitability for recording stellar spectra. In order manually to guide on the star’s image the Oriel Sighting Optic was employed which you can clearly see in the photo here: Exposure times were limited to under 5
Some Early Stellar Spectra Read More »
