Fourier transform infrared interferometer component

The use of a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer has provided a completely different methodological approach to this spectroscopy [160,161]. The central component of any FTIR spectrometer is an interferometer. No dispersive elements are used. Based on the construction, various advantages in comparison... 

The basic component of most Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometers is the Michel son interferometer. This is not the only interferometer used in FT-IR, but it is employed more often than other designs. A treatment of many other interferometer designs is available. The Michel son interferometer in a Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer replaces the monochromator in a dispersive instrument, although the functions cannot be correlated. A monochomator divides a continuous bandwidth into its component frequencies, whereas an interferometer produces interference patterns of the bandwidth in a precise and regulated manner. It should be noted that this type of interferometer is not restricted to the infrared region and its use can be extended to the visible and millimeter regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. 

A mid-infrared absorption instrument generally consists of a Fourier transform design with the same basic components as noted above for the Fourier transform near-infrared spectrometers (broadband light source, Michelson interferometer, and detector optimized for the mid-infrared spectral region.)... 

During the 1960s further improvements made infrared spectroscopy a very useful tool used worldwide in the analytical routine laboratory as well as in many fields of science. Grating spectrometers replaced the prism instruments due to their larger optical conductance (which is explained in Sec. 3 of this book). The even larger optical conductance of interferometers could be employed after computers became available in the laboratory and algorithms which made Fourier transformation of interferograms into spectra a routine. The computers which became a necessary component of the spectrometers made new powerful methods of evaluation possible, such as spectral subtraction and library search. 

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