Pulsed and high-speed FTIR spectroscopy

Abstract

Fourier transform interferometry is commonly performed by means of mechanically scanning interferometers such as a Michelson and characterized by one scanning mirror. This results in severe limitations of the capability of measuring fast signals. To overcome this drawback, we present a multi-channel FTIR spectrometer (MC-FTIR) that is capable of single-shot operation no matter how short the single pulse is, provided it delivers sufficient photons for the signal to exceed the noise. It can capture fast transient signals, limited by the signal-to-noise ratio and data transfer rate of the detector. Our device is based on a micro/nanomanufactured 3D multimirror array (MMA) which allows collecting a whole interferogram simultaneously. MMAs are manufactured by means of a patented multiple moving mask grey-level deep X-ray lithography process. Up to 640 mirror cells, generating optical path differences from 0 to about 1 mm, were achieved so far at optical quality. We have demonstrated sub-millisecond pulses and a theoretical spectral resolution of 10 cm -1 in the mid-IR. The optical system is similar to a Czerny-Turner mount with the MMA replacing the grating and an MCT focal plane array (FPA) capturing the interferogram. Our MC-FTIR enables extension of FTIR-based IR spectroscopy to arbitrarily short pulses and to fast transient signals. As the optical system is small and rugged, the instrument lends itself readily to field applications. Ongoing work is aimed at emerging applications including biomedical, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and spectroscopy of synchrotron radiation. © 2012 Copyright Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).