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Components of optical instrument

-UV/Vis & IR spectrophotometer are called optical instruments.
-Human eye is not sensitive to UV & IR wavelength ,
hence
-Optical spectroscopic methods based on following phenomena:
i)absorption, ii)fluorescence, iii)phosphorescence, iv)scattering, v)emission, & vi)chemiluminescence.

-Instruments for measurement of the phenomena differ somewhat in configuration.
-Their basic components are similar.
-The required properties of the instruments are same regardless for UV/Vis & IR portion of the spectrum.
-Instruments for measurement of the phenomena differ somewhat in configuration.
-Their basic components are similar.
-The required properties of the instruments are same regardless for UV/Vis & IR portion of the spectrum.
Configuration of the components:
-Components are similar for absorption, fluorescence & emission measurement.
-Differences lie in their configuration.

-The first configuration is for the absorption.
-The second is for fluorescence & phosphorescence measurement.
-The source is 90

to the detector.


-The third configuration is for the measurement of emission & chemiluminescence.
Here, the container is a spark, a plasma & a flame.
-The source is sample.


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Sources of radiation
-The generated beam of radiation should be with sufficient power for detection & measurement,
should be stable for reasonable periods.

-The problem of the source stability can sometimes be minimized by double beam design.

Following are the spectroscopic sources of radiation:

i)Continuum:

ii)Line sources:

iii)Lasers

i)Continuum:
-Widespread use in absorption & fluorescence spectroscopy
-Intensity changes with WL.

a) Infrared radiation
-Common sources of IR radiations:- Globar & Nernst glower.
-The Globar is an electrically heated rod of silicon carbide.
-Nernst glower is a small rod of refractory oxides.
-At 1200-1500

C it starts to conduct electricity and maintains its glow(incandescence).

b)Visible radiation:
-Common source of radiation for visible region is a tungsten filament lamp.
-It emits radiation of 350-2,000nm.
-Tungsten/halogen lamp , a newer efficient version is increasingly used nowadays.
c)Ultraviolet radiation:
-The convenient light source for ultraviolet region is a deuterium discharge lamp.
-Continuous spectrum covers 185-380nm.
-Construction: two electrodes in a deuterium filled silica envelope.
-High voltage is applied across the electrodes causes emission.
-Pressure in the envelope should be low.
-In UV/Vis spectrophotometer both tungsten halogen & deuterium lamps are used.



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ii)Line sources:
-Emit a limited No. of lines, or bands of radiation & span
a limited range of WL.

-Used in
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy,
Atomic & Fluorescence Spectroscopy,
Raman Spectroscopy,
Refractometry
Polarimetry.
-Mercury & sodium vapour lamp:
Used in refractometry, polarimetry.
-Low pressure mercury arc lamps used in liquid chromatography.(Dominant line at 253.7-nm Hg line)
-Hollow cathode lamps & electrodeless discharge lamps:

Used in AAS , in fluorescence.

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iii)Lasers:
Highly useful in analytical instruments for due to :
-high intensities,
-narrow bandwidth.
-coherent nature.
Transparent sample holder
-Required for all spectroscopic techniques except emission spectroscopy.
-The states of samples in solid, liquid & gaseous.
-The material of the sample container ideally should be transparent at the wavelength of measurement.
-In UV/Vis spectrophotometer:
*Above 320nm, the cuvette(cell) should be flat fused glass/fused silica or quartz/plastic.
*Below 320nm, the container should be fused silica/quartz cell.
-The standard pathlength of cells used in molecular absorption & fluorescence measurements is 10mm.
-However, 1-50mm are also available for special applications
-The material for sample containers in Infrared spectrometry are sodium chloride(2.5-17m) & potassium
bromide (2.5-30)m.
-In flame spectroscopic technique(AAS, flame photometry) the sample container is flame itself.


Wavelength selectors
-Ideally, most spectroscopic analyses call for radiation of a single wavelength or frequency.
*it is because enhances the sensitivity of absorbance measurements.(It is to require for Abs. Conc.)
-But no wavelength selector approaches this ideal.

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-Hence, in practice the radiation consists of a limited, continuous group of wavelengths.
-These groups of radiation are called a band.

Types of Wavelength selectors
1)Filters
2)Monochromators
a)Prisms
b)Gratings

1.Filters:
-This type includes glass, gelatin & interference (interferometric) filter.
-The glass filters are pieces of coloured glass.
-In the gelatin filters mixture of dyes are incorporated in gelatin.
-The interference filters consist of two parallel glass plates.

2)Monochromators:
-Variation of the wavelength of the radiation over a wide range is called scanning a spectrum.
-Monochromators are designed for spectral scanning.
-Monochromators for UV/Vis, infrared radiation are all similar in mechanical construction.

Components of monochromators:
-Slits, lenses, mirrors, windows, gratings or prisms
-Fabrication of the components depends on the wavelength region of intended use.

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i)Slits: for a rectangular optical image & reducing the incident beam of radiation to a suitable area

ii)Collimating lens/mirror: that produces a parallel beam of radiation.

iii)Prism/grating: for dispersion of the radiation into its component wavelength.

iv)Focusing element: reforms the image of the entrance slit & focuses it on a planar surface called
a focal plane.

v)Exit slit in the focal plane: isolates the desired spectral band or WL of radiation



Radiation transducers
-Human eye & a photographic plate or film were detectors for early spectroscopic instruments.
-Later detectors or transducers replaced the early means of radiation detection & measurement.
-Transducer is to measure & convert radiant energy/light intensities to usable electric signal.
-Precise determination of the light intensities are required for accurate determination of substance.

Properties of the ideal transducer
-High sensitivity.
-High signal - to noise ratio.
-Constant response over a considerable range of wave L
-Fast response time.
-Zero output signal in the absence of illumination.


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-The electrical signal produced by the ideal transducer would be directly proportional to the radiant power P,
i.e.
S =kP

Where, S is the current or voltage output of detector, & k is the calibration sensitivity.

Types of radiation transducers
Two kinds of transducers:
1)Photon transducer: responds to light.
Barrier-layer cells, Phototubes, Photomultipliers,
Photodiodes etc.
2)Thermal detectors: responds to heat
Thermocouples, Bolometres , Thermistors , Golay detector etc.

Signal Processors & Readouts
The signal processor is a device to :
-amplify the electrical signal from the transducer
-alter the signal from dc to ac or vice-versa
-change the phase of the signal
-filter the signal to remove the unwanted components

-Perform mathematical operations on the signal e.g. differentiation, integration or conversion to logarithm.

-Read out devices are:

DArsonval meter,
digital meters,
recorders,
cathode-ray tubes,
LCD panels,
computer displays etc.







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