TY - JOUR
T1 - Design Considerations for Discrete Frequency Infrared Microscopy Systems
AU - Phal, Yamuna Dilip
AU - Yeh, Kevin
AU - Bhargava, Rohit
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health through grant number R01EB009745.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Discrete frequency infrared chemical imaging is transforming the practice of microspectroscopy by enabling a diversity of instrumentation and new measurement capabilities. While a variety of hardware implementations have been realized, design considerations that are unique to infrared (IR) microscopes have not yet been compiled in literature. Here, we describe the evolution of IR microscopes, provide rationales for design choices, and catalog some major considerations for each of the optical components in an imaging system. We analyze design choices that use these components to optimize performance, under their particular constraints, while providing illustrative examples. We then summarize a framework to assess the factors that determine an instrument’s performance mathematically. Finally, we provide a validation approach by enumerating performance metrics that can be used to evaluate the capabilities of imaging systems or suitability for specific intended applications. Together, the presented concepts and examples should aid in understanding available instrument configurations, while guiding innovations in design of the next generation of IR chemical imaging spectrometers.
AB - Discrete frequency infrared chemical imaging is transforming the practice of microspectroscopy by enabling a diversity of instrumentation and new measurement capabilities. While a variety of hardware implementations have been realized, design considerations that are unique to infrared (IR) microscopes have not yet been compiled in literature. Here, we describe the evolution of IR microscopes, provide rationales for design choices, and catalog some major considerations for each of the optical components in an imaging system. We analyze design choices that use these components to optimize performance, under their particular constraints, while providing illustrative examples. We then summarize a framework to assess the factors that determine an instrument’s performance mathematically. Finally, we provide a validation approach by enumerating performance metrics that can be used to evaluate the capabilities of imaging systems or suitability for specific intended applications. Together, the presented concepts and examples should aid in understanding available instrument configurations, while guiding innovations in design of the next generation of IR chemical imaging spectrometers.
KW - chemical imaging
KW - design considerations
KW - design of IR microscopes
KW - discrete frequency infrared
KW - Fourier transform infrared
KW - Infrared microscopy
KW - IR microscopy
KW - optical design
KW - performance metrics
KW - quantum cascade laser
KW - spectroscopy
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U2 - 10.1177/00037028211013372
DO - 10.1177/00037028211013372
M3 - Article
C2 - 33876990
SN - 0003-7028
VL - 75
SP - 1067
EP - 1092
JO - Applied Spectroscopy
JF - Applied Spectroscopy
IS - 9
ER -