Optical spectrometer for environmental monitoring, blood analysis

17 Jun 2002

Motorists who want reassurance they are getting what they're paying for at the gas pump may be in luck if an optical spectrometer developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has the impact researchers expect it to have. In addition to its use as a gasoline octane analyzer, the microspectrometer, developed by researchers in the Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory, has numerous other applications. It can be used for non-invasive blood chemistry analysis, environmental monitoring, industrial process control, chemical warfare detection and aircraft corrosion monitoring.

The inexpensive device contains multiple precision surfaces that diffract light that enters the unit through an aperture consisting of an optical fiber input. This fiber is attached to a fiber optic connector that is positioned directly onto the entrance surface. Unlike other spectrometers, no alignment is required, according to developers.