Spectroscopy Equipment
Spectrometers are used to characterise thin film samples and solutions through optical spectroscopy.
The Ossila USB Spectrometer is compact and cost-effective, integrating seamlessly into any lab set up. With user-friendly software, our spectrometers are designed for ease of use, making them accessible to as many researchers as possible. Whether your focus is absorption, reflectance, or photoluminescence, our spectrometers deliver reliable and accurate measurements.
The modular design and array of complementary accessories allows you to customize the system to meet your specific research needs. For a complete set up, our optical spectroscopy kit offers unmatched value. It includes everything you need to get started with your measurements, making it an ideal choice for both seasoned researchers and newcomers to the field.
Our low-price spectrometers have a small lab footprint and come with accompanying software to enable fast integration with any lab. We have created the Ossila USB Spectrometer to facilitate measurements, such as absorption, reflectance, and photoluminescence, for as many researchers as possible. Each spectrometer is equipped with free spectroscopy software and updates. Created to be powerful and simple to use, it eliminates the need for advanced programming skills, allowing you to focus on what really matters – your research.
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Taking Measurements with a Spectrometer
The Ossila USB spectrometer has many potential applications that span multiple disciplines. It can be used for the characterisation of LEDs and lasers, (anti)reflection coating efficiency measurements, for investigations into absorbing materials, fluorescence detection, photovoltaics, and much more.
Optical Absorption
The optical absorption of material will tell you about the wavelengths of light that it will absorb. With this information, along with emission data, you can probe the internal electronic and vibrational structure of atoms and molecules. In some cases, this can give you information about the conformational structure of molecules and polymers within your sample.
Absorbance measurements can also be used to calculate the concentration of absorbing species in a sample or monitor the progress of chemical reactions.
The ability to measure absorption is critical for applications such as chemical synthesis and analysis, material discovery (for photovoltaics, LEDs, or pharmaceuticals) and quality control.
Typically, the spectroscopy light source used for absorption and transmission measurements has a very broad spectrum. Suitable sources include deuterium or tungsten halogen lamps or an LED broadband white light source.
Transmission and Reflectivity
Transmission and reflectivity measurements have applications that range from characterising photonic structures such as dielectric stacks (often used as high-reflectivity or antireflection coatings) to process control in manufacturing. They can be used to detect changes in film thickness, density changes, and even the presence or absence of objects.
Light Scattering
Scattering measurements are much less common, due in part to the difficulties in predicting and detecting where the light will scatter. With the correct procedures, optical spectrometers can be used to calculate the size and distribution of scattering centers within a sample. They are also useful for impurity detection/monitoring in water systems, nanoparticle characterisation and drug loading for pharmaceuticals.
Luminescence
The Ossila USB spectrometer title="USB Spectrometer">USB Spectrometer can also be used to measure the emission spectrum of materials and devices. Studying the light that is emitted by a material is a complementary technique to absorption spectroscopy, in that it probes how processes lead to the conversion of internal energy to photons, rather than the other way around.
Our optical spectrometer can be used to measure various type of radiative emission measurements including steady-state photoluminescence, fluorescence and phosphorescence. In these cases, the compatible Ossila UV light source can be used as an excitation source. Alternatively, you can use a high energy laser of appropriate wavelength. You can also use the spectrometer to measure the emission of light from non-radiative excitation sources, such as for electroluminescence measurements.
From emission measurements, you can extract information about the electronic and vibrational states of a material, as well as how these materials are interacting with their surroundings. This information can be used to complement (or as an alternative to) absorption measurements for chemical synthesis and analysis, material characterisation and discovery, quality control, and more. In addition, luminescence also has some unique applications. For example, fluorescent molecules are often used as 'tags' or 'tracers' in applications as far-ranging as understanding the processes occurring within living cells, to identifying the paths of water courses.
Optical spectroscopy is invaluable in studying all types of emission. It allows the colour rendering index (CRI) of light sources to be calculated, which is an important factor when developing lighting for specific applications.