Advances in photo-thermal infrared imaging microspectroscopy

Robert Furstenberg; Chris Kendziora; Michael Papantonakis; Viet Nguyen; Andrew McGill

doi:10.1117/12.2015990

29 May 2013 Advances in photo-thermal infrared imaging microspectroscopy

Robert Furstenberg, Chris Kendziora, Michael Papantonakis, Viet Nguyen, Andrew McGill

Proceedings Volume 8729, Scanning Microscopies 2013: Advanced Microscopy Technologies for Defense, Homeland Security, Forensic, Life, Environmental, and Industrial Sciences; 87290H (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2015990
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2013, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Abstract

There is a growing need for chemical imaging techniques in many fields of science and technology: forensics, materials science, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, just to name a few. While FTIR micro-spectroscopy is commonly used, its practical resolution limit of about 20 microns or more is often insufficient. Raman micro-spectroscopy provides better spatial resolution (~1 micron), but is not always practical because of samples exhibiting fluorescence or low Raman scattering efficiency. We are developing a non-contact and non-destructive technique we call photo-thermal infrared imaging spectroscopy (PT-IRIS). It involves photo-thermal heating of the sample with a tunable quantum cascade laser and measuring the resulting increase in thermal emission with an infrared detector. Photo-thermal emission spectra resemble FTIR absorbance spectra and can be acquired in both stand-off and microscopy configurations. Furthermore, PT-IRIS allows the acquisition of absorbance-like photo-thermal spectra in a reflected geometry, suitable for field applications and for in-situ study of samples on optically IR-opaque substrates (metals, fabrics, paint, glass etc.). Conventional FTIR microscopes in reflection mode measure the reflectance spectra which are different from absorbance spectra and are usually not catalogued in FTIR spectral libraries. In this paper, we continue developing this new technique. We perform a series of numerical simulations of the laser heating of samples during photo-thermal microscopy. We develop parameterized formulas to help the user pick the appropriate laser illumination power. We also examine the influence of sample geometry on spectral signatures. Finally, we measure and compare photo-thermal and reflectance spectra for two test samples.

Citation Download Citation

Robert Furstenberg, Chris Kendziora, Michael Papantonakis, Viet Nguyen, and Andrew McGill "Advances in photo-thermal infrared imaging microspectroscopy", Proc. SPIE 8729, Scanning Microscopies 2013: Advanced Microscopy Technologies for Defense, Homeland Security, Forensic, Life, Environmental, and Industrial Sciences, 87290H (29 May 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2015990

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