Abstract
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIRS) is a rapid, inexpensive, and conclusive technique which can be used by the analytic chemist or material scientist for molecular identification of solids, liquids and gases by relating spectral absorptance to electronic, rotational and vibrational energy state transitions in the material under study (1). Until recently, studies of this kind have been restricted to laboratory conditions. The development of the compositional family of glass fluorides of zirconium, barium, lanthanum, aluminum, and sodium (abbreviated ZBLAN) for long length optical fiber telecommunications can now provide a mid-infrared transmitting optical link whereby samples, remotely positioned from the interferometer, can be sensed and analyzed. A mid-infrared optical window is of interest because this is the "signature region" for optical absorption spectra of many chemical species. This paper reports on advances in this technology utilizing direct chemical absorption and evanescent wave absorption as sensor probes.
© 1988 Optical Society of America
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