Go Spectro
Turn Your Smartphone into a Spectrometer
The GoyaLab GoSpectro is a device that turns any smartphone or tablet into an ultracompact and powerful handheld spectrometer. This tool enables spectral analysis of light sources, optical filters and various coloured objects by measuring emission, absorption, reflection and transmission spectra with unmatched compactness and ease of use. It is the ideal companion for light characterization in the field or in the lab.
GoSpectro is sensitive over the entire visible range (400 nm – 750 nm) with a spectral resolution of less than 10 nm (camera dependent) and a reproducibility of 1 nm. This revolutionary device allows the spectral characterization of light sources as well as measured spectra in emission, transmission or reflection, with unparalleled compactness.
GoSpectro takes advantage of the camera in the smartphone or tablet, and is easily calibrated by the user in a few seconds with any compact fluorescent light bulb or fluorescent tube. An optical fibre adaptor is available for the GoSpectro to increase usability in certain applications.
The main screen (shown above) of the mobile app (iOS and Android) provides access to functions for autoscaling the spectrum on the vertical axis, correcting the baseline, saving the spectrum, subtracting a reference spectrum and finding the highest intensity peak.
In this post, we demonstrate how the GoSpectro can be used as a measurement tool for lighting and filters identification applications.
Example: GoSpectro as a Measurement Tool for Lighting
The advent of LEDs has been a game-changer for the lighting industry. Indeed, LEDs have already deeply penetrated the automotive and indoor lighting sector and are spreading across various outdoor lighting applications for highways, roadways, bridges and tunnels. This paradigm shift calls for new tools for the characterization of such light sources.
GoSpectro has been tested on various lamps (LED, halogen, compact fluorescent, etc.) and on optical filters. The measured spectra can be used to determine the Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) of light sources and the transmission curve of optical filters.
In this example, GoSpectro was used to measure the emission spectrum of different types of light sources. These emission spectra are very specific and we can use them to clearly identify the type of lamp under investigation, even at a far distance. This is particularly useful for the maintenance of street and roadway lighting.
We carried out the tests on halogen lamp and a “cool” LED to try and determine their Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT). Using the intensity calibration function available on the GoSpectro application we acquired spectra. Then, from the measured spectra we calculated the CCT:
The calculated CCTs are in good agreement with the theoretical values and the spectra show the typical features expected from a halogen lamp (black body) and from an LED light source.
Why use fibre optic probes for temperature measurement🌡️
When you find that conventional temperature sensors based on resistors or capacitors, or simple wire-based sensors such as thermocouples, just won’t operate properly in a challenging environment, look instead to the multiple benefits provided by fibre optic temperature probes.
Fully dielectric construction of the sensor and its attached fibre optic cable gives immunity to the effects of EMI/RFI, allowing use in high voltage environments, magnetic resonance imaging systems and high magnetic fields. The material construction further allows use in radiation, high vacuum and explosive areas, and the physical dimensions typical of fibre optics allows the probe to be treated essentially as an electrical cable, routed along complex pathways and along conduits, but without any of the disadvantages of inaccuracies due to the influence of electromagnetic fields.
One main growth area for fibre optic temperature probes has been in the automotive segment, involving test and development of electric vehicles (EV) including the motors, charging stations and batteries. Faster and accurate temperature measurement is necessary at each stage of EV product development, at both individual component level for identifying performance limits and temperature behavior of individual components, and for fully assembled vehicles to ensure the overall performance and safety.
High voltage connections and operations within the vehicle bring challenges in terms of safety, limited access and electromagnetic noise issues during testing and measurements. Fibre optic based temperature probes are becoming more popular in testing electric and hybrid vehicles due to their immunity to electromagnetic fields, ruggedness, small size, fast response, high accuracy and intrinsic safety of operation.
Our partner Rugged Monitoring has extensive involvement in this application area. [https://www.ruggedmonitoring.com/solutions-details/fiber-optic-temperature-sensors-in-electric-vehicle-temperature-testing/5c9c5fb493c0cc0001d3d7b5 ]. If your temperature instrumentation in EV development and testing is revealing the limitations of conventional sensor technology, ask us how fibre optic temperature probes will solve these issues and provide methods of temperature measurement that can’t be made in any other way.
Instruments for Energy Storage
Energy storage and energy conversion devices are both used to fill the need for portable as well as renewable power. The evolving needs require the improvement in capability to provide pulse-power, long run-time and cycle life. New materials and advancements of engineering play a key role in meeting the market demand.
Li-ion batteries are today’s leading technology in this space. Cyclic voltammetry is used in the development of the material and identification of its potential window (charge cut-off voltage and discharge cut-off voltage), and is also the primary technique in identification of new electrolytes. The BNC connections of both the Solartron Analytical EnergyLab and Princeton Applied Research potentiostats provide an interface common for the glovebox feedthroughs often needed for this type of research.
As the goal of a rechargeable battery is to provide high cycle-life, high efficiency, and high energy density, prospective new materials are combined into a complete cell and tested in a charge – discharge experiment to determine the capacity vs cycle number, cycle-life and Coulombic efficiency. Battery holders for PARSTAT and VersaSTAT potentiostats allow for direct connection of common battery formats to the instrument. Direct connection through a battery holder avoids the added stray capacitance and inductance to impedance measurements, and creates a cleaner signal and a cleaner lab.
The use of auxiliary voltage measurements allows monitoring of both the anode and cathode of a battery. Standard potentiostat design concentrates on the signal and response at the Working Electrode, and the Counter Electrode reactions are not characterized. Other applications use an inert Counter Electrode, but in battery technology this is an active electrode. Being able to characterize this terminal allows users to identify failure mechanisms and properly focus research initiatives. This is available on the PARSTAT 3000A and EnergyLab products for single cell evaluation and PARSTAT MC for multichannel, simultaneous tests for improved throughput.
The typically flat-voltage profile, seen as a key advantage of Li-technology, drives the need for advanced techniques to determine State of Charge. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is the emerging method for making these determinations in-situ. EIS is also used to determine how the battery is functioning with respect to its anticipated lifetime (State of Health). The full range of products from Princeton Applied Research and Solartron Analytical provide these measurement capabilities either as standard or as options. EIS also provides a mechanism via equivalent circuit analysis or simple visual reference to identify the Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) of a battery. This is a key figure of merit as it represents a loss of the system. The EnergyLab EIS methods, including its innovative FRA-technology and oversampling, allows for characterization of devices of micro-ohm impedance.
For extreme applications that require greater than 5 V or 2 A of current, batteries can be configured in stacks. Since stacks are purposefully designed for operation at high voltages (up to 100 V) or high currents (up to 100 A), external boosters are required. External boosters are available in a wide range of measurement capacities, bandwidth and accuracy to meet a given testing profile. The PMC-2000A and PARSTAT3000A provide the voltage range to test a stack of batteries as well as the standard, additional electrometer to measure the characteristics (including impedance) of a single battery within the stack. The EnergyLab provides multiple electrometers to study even more cells within the stack.
Whatever your requirements in state-of-the-art energy storage and energy conversion applications, AMETEK’s Princeton Applied Research and Solartron Analytical advanced instrumentation provides the tools for market leading impedance analysis, with the widest voltage and current ranges available for anode/cathode and stack testing.
March 2020 newsletter now online
The Elliot Scientific March 2020 Newsletter has been sent out: view it here.
In this month’s issue…
- Lyncée Tec introduces new Industrial DHM® Systems
- nPoint piezo nanopositioning systems
- Prizmatix products for Optogenetics and other Science
- WITec’s latest characterising semiconductor materials application note
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New products added across our website
These past few weeks have seen a rash of products released from our partners, so here is a quick summary of what’s new:
Gamma Scientific‘s latest SpectralLED® light source, the RS-7-2 VIS SWIR, features two light engines mounted onto a 500 mm integrating sphere with 150 mm output port to offer a spatial uniformity of >98% across an 8° field of view. The solid-state design incorporates 31 discrete visible wavelengths, and 10 shortwave infrared wavelengths, ranging from 380 to 1700 nm for synthesis of commercially available light sources. Custom wavelength options are also available. For more information, visit our Gamma Scientific SpectralLED® page.
Lyncée Tec have added to their digital holographic inspection microscope range with the launch of the R100 and R200 Industrial DHM® Systems.
These compact and lightweight 3D optical profilometers with interferometric resolution acquire data instantaneously over the full field of view, and at camera frame rate by using a scannerless measurement technology unlike other optical profilometers.
- Sample can be measured in transit
- No moving parts
- Unaffected by vibration
- Characterises large areas fast for high throughput
For more information, visit our Lyncée Tec Industrial DHM® Systems page.
Siskiyou now offer a motorised version of their MMF mirror flipper mount. Designed to be used in layouts where optics or detectors need to be in place for one experiment, and then removed for another, the MMF.sd offers <50 µradian repeatability. Control of the mount position is by either wireless fob or TTL input. For more information, please visit our Siskiyou mirror mounts page.
Vescent has been developing low-SWaP fibre lasers for deployed applications, offering a variety of custom packaging options and control electronics to meet the most demanding requirements. Their latest offering is the FO-100 oscillator, a core piece of equipment for femtosecond oscillator and frequency comb experiments. Built around an Erbium-doped fibre, it can deliver sub-100 fs pulses with a bandwidth of over 40 nm, given an appropriate pump input and thermal control loops. For more information on this and related products, visit our Vescent Mode Locked Lasers page.
January 2020 newsletter now online
The Elliot Scientific January 2020 Newsletter has been sent out: view it here.
In this month’s issue…
- Congratulations go to WITec with ParticleScout achieving another accolade
- Rugged Monitoring introduce an OEM version of their fibre-optic temperature monitor
- And we’re at BiOS (Booth #8480) and Photonics West (Booth #4569) in early February
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Metamaterials webinar on Thursday sponsored by CRAIC Technologies – the Microspectroscopy People
CRAIC Technologies are sponsoring a webinar entitled Metamaterials Design and Characterization with UV–VIS–NIR Microspectroscopy. It is being hosted by PhysicsWorld, and takes place this Thursday, November 14th at 3pm GMT.
Dr Yash Shah
Briefly, Dr Yash Shah from the Xtreme Light Group at Glasgow University will talk about creating polarisation-insensitive plasmonic filters with narrow linewidths, and his novel experiments conducted with a microspectrophotometer to collect Stokes polarimetry measurements.
Dr Jon Burdett – lead applications scientist at CRAIC Technologies – will introduce CRAIC’s microspectrophotometers and advise on microspectrophotometer experiments.
Dr J. J. Burdett
You can register for the event by signing up here.
CRAIC microspectrophotometers can be viewed here on our website.
SPIE Optics + Photonics opens next week…
On Sunday the SPIE Optics + Photonics (#SPIEOpticsPhotonics) begins. With world-class speakers presenting on the latest research, plus conferences on Nanoscience – with a special shout out for Optical Trapping and Optical Micromanipulation XVI, Organic Photonics, Electronics and Optical Engineering, it promises to be an exciting event.
The following Tuesday, a three day expo opens featuring over 150 exhibitors, a number of whom we distribute for here in the UK and Ireland. So, if you’re in San Diego next week, do drop by and say hello to our friends at these booths:
- #325 Micro Laser Systems, Inc. for collimators and laser beam expanders
- #432 OZ Optics Ltd. for fibre optics components and patchcords
- #620 nPoint, Inc. for piezo-driven nanopositioning flexure stages
- #623 Lake Shore Cryotronics for low temperature and magnetic field products
- #730 Siskiyou Corporation for mounts, stages, manipulators and more in opto-mechanics
If you’re not going to SPIE Optics + Photonics, then click on the above manufacturers to see their products on our website, or contact us for more information.
Tomorrow we’re are exhibiting at The Advanced Materials Show
On Wednesday and Thursday, July 10th & 11th, we are in Telford for the combined Advanced Materials and Ceramics UK shows.
If you are attending, drop by our stand (1211) to talk to us about the broad range of equipment we offer for researchers in materials science.
From Digital Holographic Microscopes from Lyncée Tec and Confocal Raman Microscopes from WITec, to vibrating sample magnetometers and probe stations from Lake Shore Cryotronics. We can also offer vibration isolation solutions from Accurion and Kinetic Systems of Boston.
We look forward to seeing you.
Elliot Scientific exhibiting at CMQM in St. Andrews this week
The new CMQM conference, taking place at St. Andrews University, provides the UK’s Condensed Matter Physics community to present and discuss their research results in specialised disciplines, superconductivity, magnetism, organic photovoltaics, polaritons and light-matter interactions among others.
For just two days of this three day event, July 3rd and 4th, we will be exhibiting our range of materials characterisation equipment. If you are attending the conference, or are a physics student at the university, we look forward to meeting you.
WITec are at MMC in Manchester from Monday
The Microscience Microscopy Congress (MMC) takes place from Monday, July 1st to Thursday the 4th at Manchester Central.
With 36 conference sessions, an exhibition with more than 100 companies, workshops, training opportunities and a busy social programme it’s the must-attend event for the UK’s microscopy community.
WITec, pioneers of commercial 3D Raman imaging and correlative microscopy are exhibiting on Stand 331 and Elliot Scientific will be supporting them.
The company continues to lead the industry with a unique product portfolio that offers speed, sensitivity and resolution without compromise. Raman, AFM, SNOM and SEM (RISE) microscopes, and combinations thereof, are offered for specific challenges in chemical and structural characterisation through a modular hardware architecture and flexible software combination.
June 2019 newsletter now online
The Elliot Scientific June 2019 Newsletter: In this issue we welcome nPoint and their range of piezo-actuated nanopositioning flexure stages, and Microscope Heaters who do what it says on their tin – heat microscopes with fanless incubation systems. We also announce that our Optical Tweezer systems now come with Microsoft’s Windows 10, and that EXFO have launched the Optical Xplorer – the world’s first OFM. Plus Laser World of Photonics in Munich next week and a whole host of materials science and microscopy trade shows coming up next month.
To view it in a browser, click here.
To read it magazine-style online, click here.
To download it as a PDF, click here.
If you would like us to keep you up to date through our monthly email newsletters, then subscribe using this link.
Elliot Scientific 