The ARCoptix OEM FT-IR module is the ideal product for system integrators (or labatoratories) looking for a customized FTIR measurement design. The OEM module exists in two configurations:

The ARCoptix OEM010 is our most compact FT-IR complete system. It features a built-in SiC globar heated to 1550 °K and regulated in temperature to ensure stable illumination. The light that is being output by the instrument is first modulated by our permanently aligned interferometer, making it robust against stray light that might eventually reach the detector. The OEM010 rugged casing also holds a highly sensitive TE-MCT detector which maximizes the response of the system. Built from the same components, the OEM011 displays identical performances as the OEM010 while providing with an added degree of freedom thanks to its separate detector module.

The heart of the FT-Rocket is dual corner-cube (retro-reflector) interferometer. The two corner-cubes are fixed to a common swinging arm, which rotates to create an optical path difference (with respect to the beam splitter) in the two arms of the interferometer.
This type of design is called a permanently aligned interferometer. This particular arrangement of the interfeormeter is known to be the most robust against vibrations and temperature drifts. It never has to be realigned.
The swinging arm of the interferometer rotates on wear-free flexure system, making this mechanical system extremely robust and durable.

For measuring the movement of the mirrors, a solid-state reference laser is coupled into the interferometer. Compared to classic HeNe lasers, the solid-state lasers that we use are more compact and have a much longer life-time. They have a very low temperature-induced wavelegnth drift and, when kept at constant temperature with a Peltier element, their wavelength can be stabilized to a few PPM, thus providing a very accurate and reproducible wavelength scale. This is crucial for ensuring a day-to-day and unit-to-unit consistency..

A typical example of industrial application based on the OEM010 is shown here below. This customer driven configuration features a short path flow cell, designed to withstand high pressure (> 100 bar) fluids while placed in a high temperature environment. The modulated light emitted by the OEM010 is efficiently coupled to the cell thanks to a homemade accessory that enables a common-path configuration.

The AoDAQ is a multi-threading, cross-platform and versatile software that simultaneously takes care of:

• (1) Handling communication with the FT-IR via USB
• (2) Processing raw signals to deliver the spectrum
• (3) Running a TCP ethernet server

The AoDAQ can be installed on all sorts of computers, from desktop machines to embedded, low-power single board computers. Thanks to the hosting of a TCP server, the instrument data and parameters can be accessed locally and/or remotely. All communication with the instrument eventually reduces to a set of TCP/IP commands that allow to quickly acquire data, adjust parameters, monitor the instrument status etc. using the programming environment of your choice.

The FTIR Rocket is delivered with a free Windows 7 & 10 compatible graphical user interface (GUI) program.

The free basic software package allows the user to:

• Configure hardware measurement parameters (amplifier gain, averaging, ...).
• Display real-time spectral measurement results.
• Set reference spectra (white, dark) and choose among raw spectra, transmission or reflection mode.
• Usual features such as save, open, zoom, rescale...
• Some specific features related to Fourier transform spectrometry: choose among spectrum or interferogram averaging, apodization, look and save the interferograms, etc.

The FTIR Rocket is also delivered with a free API that allows you to control the spectrometer with custom code via our DLLs. Examples are available for the following languages:

• C++ (on demand)
• C#
• Labview
• Matlab