Spectroscopy

BRINGING SPACE EQUIPMENT TO APPLICATIONS IN DAILY LIFE SPECTROSCOPY

Figure 1. The OMI satellite, launched in 2004 and containing a spectrometer which opto-mechanics are designed and built by TNO, shows that spectroscopy enables measurements kilometres away from the sample. Image courtesy NASA.

Spectroscopy is the study of the with partners that are specialised in the including ESA, NASA and ITER. When interaction between light and matter. development of light sources and cameras. exposed to incredibly harsh environments Therefore, we offer a one-stop shop in such as the plasma in a nuclear fusion or For TNO this means: chemical the production of customised instruments. on satellites in space, performance identification and characterisation TNO also works closely with companies matters like nowhere else. The instruments with light. Determining the that specialise in volume production of developed by TNO are able to perform in composition of a sample is necessary all required components. these extreme environments and are in a lot of situations, for example reliable over years of operation. determining the composition of the ADVANTAGES OF SPECTROSCOPY TNO is now drawing on this unmatched There are a number of advantages of using expertise and brings space equipment to atmosphere, rocks or your blood. light to identify and characterise matter: applications in daily life. Using light has many advantages, – Light requires no physical contact such as the possibility to cover large between samples and the instrument. TYPES OF SPECTROSCOPY distances and work contactless. – One has the freedom to position the TNO focuses on three types of instrument either directly on the sample spectroscopy: 1) absorption spectroscopy; TNO designs and develops prototypes of (for instance on skin), but also kilometres 2) Raman spectroscopy; and 3) Laser measurement probes and telescopes, as away (for instance on a satellite, see Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). well as the spectrometer itself. TNO has Figure 1). expert knowledge on optical design, – No sample preparation is needed. ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY ray-tracing, stray-light analysis, – The results can be quantitative. Absorption spectroscopy is a technique tolerancing, mechanical design, optical that can determine chemical composition, manufacturing (including freeform optics), WHY TNO? e.g. atmospheric (trace) gas concentrations mechanical manufacturing, alignment TNO spectroscopic instruments are used such as ozone, CO2, methane and NOx. and calibration. We closely collaborate by world-leading international institutes TNO has an excellent track record in SPECTROSCOPY – BRINGING SPACE EQUIPMENT TO APPLICATIONS IN DAILY LIFE

Table 1 shows an example of an innovative spectrometer approach developed by TNO. By choosing for a monolithic approach of

1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 the complete spectrometer, its size can be reduced, while its performance is kept comparable to large laboratory equipment. The basic compact design can be altered

1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 for specific applications. Dedicated customer specifications are also possible.

TNO TNO is an independent innovation 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 organisation that connects people and knowledge in order to create the innovations that sustainably boost the competiveness of industry and wellbeing of society. 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Figure 2. Spectroscopic measurements showing the hole in the ozone layer. Image courtesy NASA. TNO works for a variety of customers: governments, the SME sector, large companies, service providers and non- space-based imaging absorption governmental organisations. Working spectroscopy: three instruments have together on new knowledge, better products been successfully launched as satellite and clear recommendations for policy and payloads since 1995 and all are still in orbit processes. As a ‘knowledge broker’, TNO and operation today. With one of these advises their customers on finding the instruments, the hole in the ozone layer optimum solutions that are geared was measured (see Figure 2). In addition precisely to the questions they have. to atmospheric applications, absorption spectroscopy can be applied on liquids and even solids for ground-based applications.

RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive Figure 3. The first generation of a miniature Raman technique for quantifying the chemical spectrometer designed and prototyped by TNO. composition of a sample and identifying the phase of materials. It is based on the LASER INDUCED BREAKDOWN observation of molecular and phonon SPECTROSCOPY vibrations and provides a molecular LIBS is an ultrasensitive approach to fingerprint of the sample. TNO realised determine and quantify the elemental TNO.NL Raman systems that are able to composition of a sample, without the discriminate between cancerous tissue expense and complexity of mass and healthy tissue, or systems that are spectrometry. In combination with Raman, able to determine the glucose content in TNO can deliver both elemental and blood in a non-invasive manner. Figure 3 molecular characterisation of a sample. shows the first generation of such a With LIBS instrumentation, TNO enables miniature Raman spectrometer designed real-time monitoring within the industry, and prototyped by TNO. It is suitable for e.g. product and material streams on Contact low cost, high volume applications such conveyer belts. For example, TNO Marijn Sandtke as medical diagnostics and potential developed a LIBS instrument that is able T +31 88 86 66 473 mobile phone integration. to discriminate valuable ore from useless E [email protected] ore coming from a mine. TNO Table 1. TNO offers high end spectroscopy in a very small volume in three different scenarios. Stieltjesweg 1 2628 CK Delft Broadband version Raman version Absorption version The Netherlands Bandwidth 400-800 nm 830-930 nm 2000 - 4000 nm −1 Resolution 2.5 nm 3.4 cm 4 nm P.O. Box 155 Slit size 50 µm 50 µm 50 µm 2600 AD Delft F-number f/2 f/2 f/2 The Netherlands Dimensions 65×43×8 mm 70×66×6 mm TBD incl. housing excl. housing Status Hardware available Hardware available Conceptual design stage TNO.NL JRV181213-01