The Challenge:

The Solution:
Optical spectroscopy in the visible and infrared regions provides a fast, convenient method of non-destructive analysis. Reflectance, transmittance and emittance spectroscopy of natural surfaces are sensitive to specific chemical bonds in materials, whether solid, liquid or gas. Imaging spectroscopy can be used at the microscopic scale (laboratory) and to macroscopic scales (earth remote sensing and planetary astronomy).

An imaging system comprised of a VariSpec tunable filter, CCD or NIR camera, objective lens and application-specific lighting provides an at-line or laboratory-grade instrument. On-line solutions are implemented with an ImSpector imaging spectrograph. Hyperspectral data is collected using principle component analysis and other statistical analyses.

The Tools Used:
VIS or NIR (400 to 2450 nm range) VariSpec filter or ImSpector imaging spectrograph
CCD camera or infrared camera
Colour-corrected, macro imaging lens
Application-specific lighting
LabVIEW program for instrument control, image acquisition and analysis
ENVI software

The Difference It Made:
Chemical imaging spectroscopy is a powerful approach for materials analysis because of its ability to rapidly and non-invasively visualize molecular chemical heterogeneity. Chemical imaging techniques are useful for the qualitative and quantitative characterization of molecular composition, and architecture of a diverse array of heterogeneous materials. Imaging spectroscopy is broadly applicable for the analysis of new materials, the evaluation of the performance of existing materials, and the control of product quality.

Spectral discrimination of plastics