We build most of our own spectroscopy systems so we can modify, expand, or upgrade our setup to open doors to new types of measurements or experiments. In addition to recording and processing spectroscopy data, students will have the opportunity to design/build optical systems, write code for controlling their components, and learn how to detect/process signals. All our home-built instruments run on our own software written using MATLAB.
Current systems (click hyperlinks to scroll in page):
Ultrafast laser spectroscopy
High speed broadband absorbance spectrophotometry
FTIR Spectrometer
Other Instrumentation and equipment
Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy
Our lab has two ultrafast transient absorption (pump-probe) spectrometers with detection in the visible to near-infrared spectral region (500 – 1100 nm) and in the near-infrared region (875 – 2350 nm).
As our light source, we use a commercial Yb-based femtosecond laser (PHAROS) coupled with 2 optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs, ORPHEUS-HE) from Light Conversion. Our fundamental laser wavelength is 1030 nm, pulse energy is 2 mJ, and pulse duration is 160 fs. The repetition rate can be tuned up to 200 kHz, and the wavelength can be tuned using the OPAs from 350 – 2600 nm, producing a pulse energy of ~10 – 100 µJ.
Our pump pulse is produced by one of our OPAs, and our probe pulse is a white light continuum produced by driving a sapphire window using the fundamental wavelength. The relative timing between the pump and probe is controlled using an optical delay line, and the probe beam is detected using high-speed double camera prism spectrometers from Entwicklungsbuero Stresing.
Current transient absorption spectrometer capabilities:
- Pump: 350 – 2500 nm (tunable)
- Probe: 500 – 1000 nm and ~875 – 2350 nm
- Time resolution: ~200 fs
- Time window: ~ 3 ns
High-Speed Broadband Absorbance Spectrophotometry
Our absorbance spectrophotometer (vis/near-IR) is equipped with 2 multichannel detectors with an overall spectral range of 450 – 2500 nm. To achieve this, we use a stabilized tungsten halogen light source and a combination of silicon and InGaAs multichannel spectrometers from Avantes. The system is capable of recording full absorbance spectra in fractions of a second, enabling time-resolved absorbance measurements with high sampling rates, and allowing us to couple the method with electrochemical measurements, such as cyclic voltammetry (CV).
Our homebuilt 400 – 2500 nm absorbance spectrophotometer
FTIR Spectroscopy
Our FTIR spectrometer can detect in the 500 – 7800 wavenumber spectral range (1280 – 20,000 nm). The system is also capable of running in rapid mode to measure FTIR spectra with a spectral acquisition rate as high as 80 Hz.
JASCO FT/IR-4X Spectrometer
Other Instrumentation and Equipment
Liquid Nitrogen Cryostat
Sample-in-vacuum cryostat capable of controlling temperature of film samples over the 65 – 500 K range.
Pine WaveNow Potentiostat
Potentiostat for electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical measurements on polymer films.
HP absorbance spectrophotometer
Absorbance spectrophotometer using multichannel silicon detectors and with spectral detection over 200 – 1100 nm.
Cary 50 Bio UV-Visible Spectrophotometer
Absorbance spectrophotometer using multichannel silicon detectors and with spectral detection over 200 – 1100 nm.