ULTRA-FAST 80 kHz MID-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY
The drive current of a mid-infrared laser at 3329 nm is modulated in amplitude at 1 kHz and the ultra-fast 80 kHz edition of the NLIR 2.0 – 5.0 µm spectrometer measures the laser spectrum with a temporal resolution of 12.5 µs. When the drive current is modulated, the amplitude and center frequency of the laser changes, and these characteristics are clearly visible in the data shown in the figure.
Measurement done by Marc-Simon Bahr at HAW Hamburg, Department of Information and Electrical Engineering.
IR COATING QUALITY CONTROL
Our fast infrared spectrometers are ideal to measure transmission properties of IR coated windows or mirrors. The figure shows single-shot measurements (20 ms exposure time using a standard 30 W thermal light source) of a Germanium band-pass filter and a 1064 nm mirror with AR coating for mid-infrared wavelengths.
MID-INFRARED OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY WITH kHz LINE RATE
A new Optics Letter reports on mid-infrared optical coherence tomography
(OCT) at 4 µm based on NLIR upconversion spectrometer technology, which promotes the scan rate to 3 kHz, thus enabling for the first time real-time OCT monitoring in the mid-infrared.
Niels M. Israelsen et al., Opt. Letts. 46, p. 4558 (2021).
MEASUREMENT OF MID-INFRARED ns PULSES
Light from an NKT Photonics MIR Compact supercontinuum source, which emits 5 ns pulses at 40 kHz covering a spectrum from 2 µm to 4.2 µm, is measured using two different point detectors. A MIR monochromator selects the wavelength 2.4 µm with a 20 nm bandwidth, and the output is coupled to a 200 µm MIR fiber. The output of the fiber is sent in turn to each of two detectors: an NLIR 240 MHz 2.4 µm Single-wavelength detector (with 50 dB attenuation) and a commercially available 9 MHz InAsSb detector with direct exposure. The figure shows the responses of the two detectors.
Mid-infrared spectrometers and detectors – a new paradigm
The fastest infrared detectors on the market
➢ 130 kHz full-spectrum spectroscopy
➢ 10 GHz bandwidth point detection
A new standard for sensitivity and responsivity
➢ Noise-equivalent power of few fW/√Hz
➢ Up to GV/W response
Bandwidth flexibility
➢ 2.0 – 5.0 µm and 7.6 – 12.0 µm
➢ The narrower the bandwidth, the higher the response
See our products
See our spectrometers, point detectors, and conversion module; all the devices are outstanding in sensitivity, speed and noise performance.
Read about our technology
The enabling technology of NLIR is upconversion of mid-infrared wavelengths to near-visible wavelengths. This key optical process allows detection of mid-infrared light by Si or GaAs detectors, which are far superior in terms of detectivity, speed, and noise
What are our products used for?
Our products have a wide range of applications from ultra-sensitive or rapid power detection and spectral analysis of light sources to measurement of different kind of samples, for example plastics, optical coatings, components in water and oil solutions, and mixes of gases.
The core of the NLIR technology
All mid-infrared detection products of NLIR are based on sum-frequency generation (or upconversion), which is a highly sophisticated nonlinear optical process where two-photons annihilate in the creation of a new photon with the same energy as the sum of the originals . When mid-infrared light enters one of our detectors, it is brought together with a high-power 1064 nm laser inside a LiNbO 3 crystal; one photon from each of these fields annihilate by interacting with bound electrons in the crystal to create a photon in the near-visible range. The new photon exits the crystal and can now be measured using Silicon-based devices. In the conversion process, all properties of the mid-infrared photon, except the wavelength, are conserved.
DEMO OF 1 GHz MID-INFRARED DETECTOR
Lasse and Søren, NLIR’s experienced optics-engineer duo, are showing a simple measurement of a nano-second pulse at 3.8 µm from a super-continuum source. The pulse has a peak power of only 0.5 µW but the response of the detector is 3 kV/W so the oscilloscope can easily measure the signal without further amplification.
Free Spectrometer Software included
- Easy connect and use software included.
- Data live stream, external trigger mode, background capture, transmission view, data saving, etc.
- API for spectrometers in MATLAB and Python available upon request.
