Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry was developed in order to overcome the limitations
encountered with dispersive instruments. The main difficulty was the slow scanning process. A method
for measuring all of the infrared frequencies simultaneously, rather than individually, was needed.
A solution was developed which employed a very simple optical device called an interferometer.
The interferometer produces a unique type of signal which has all of the infrared frequencies “encoded”
into it. The signal can be measured very quickly, usually on the order of one second or so. Thus,
the time element per sample is reduced to a matter of a few seconds rather than several minutes.
Most interferometers employ a beamsplitter which takes the incoming infrared beam and
divides it into two optical beams. One beam reflects off of a flat mirror which is fixed in place. The
other beam reflects off of a flat mirror which is on a
mechanism which allows this mirror to move a very
short distance (typically a few millimeters) away from
the beamsplitter. The two beams reflect off of their
respective mirrors and are recombined when they meet
back at the beamsplitter. Because the path that one beam
travels is a fixed length and the other is constantly
changing as its mirror moves, the signal which exits
the interferometer is the result of these two beams “interfering” with each other. The resulting signal
is called an interferogram which has the unique property that every data point (a function of the
moving mirror position) which makes up the signal has information about every infrared frequency
which comes from the source.
This means that as the interferogram is measured, all frequencies are being measured
simultaneously. Thus, the use of the interferometer results in extremely fast measurements.
Because the analyst requires a frequency spectrum (a plot of the intensity at each individual
frequency) in order to make an identification, the measured interferogram signal can not be interpreted
directly. A means of “decoding” the individual frequencies is required. This can be accomplished via a
well-known mathematical technique called the Fourier transformation. This transformation is
performed by the computer which then presents the user with the desired spectral information for analysis.
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