208
C. W. Huck
8.4 The Conclusions and Prospects for Future
Over the past decade, a new generation of compact NIR instrumentation appeared
and underwent a successively progressing level of miniaturization. These devices
revolutionized several fields of application of NIR spectroscopy. However, in sharp
contrast to the matured technology used in laboratory-scale benchtop spectrometers,
the miniaturized NIR instrumentation available on the market is far less uniform as
it implements various engineering principles. Therefore, the performance profiles
of those devices differ considerably. The necessary design compromises, inevitably
accepted to achieve a compact size, impose certain limits in the applicability of
such devices. Furthermore, several miniaturized NIR sensors have been optimized
toward low cost and ease of use by a non-expert operator. These circumstances rise
considerable concerns on the miniaturization vs. performance factor in reference
to scientific-grade benchtop spectrometers. It still remains a relatively shallowly
explored problem. The aim of this chapter is to summarize the background of miniaturized technology in NIR spectroscopy and its impact on the existing and potential
applications.
Rapidly increasing utilization of miniaturized NIR spectrometers in practical
applications throughout a broad spectrum of fields is evident from the literature
reports published over the last few years. It demonstrates the potential of portable
NIR spectroscopy and its importance for modern analytical chemistry. Furthermore,
this technology is one of the first methods of physicochemical analysis that aims to
cross the barrier between industrial or professional and everyday life applications
in general public. Notwithstanding, the impressive level of miniaturization often
comes as a give-and-take against the accuracy and robustness in analytical sense.
Furthermore, the diversity of the design principles implemented in portable NIR
spectrometers affects their performance profiles in device-specific ways. Therefore,
it is an active area of research to perform systematic evaluations of the analytical
performance of various miniaturized NIR spectrometers available on the market, and
to better direct future development of this technology.
References
1. A. Michelson, E.W. Morley, On the relative motion of the Earth and the luminiferous ether.
Am. J. Sci. 34, 333–345 (1887)
2. Q.S. Hanley, Fourier transforms simplified: computing an infrared spectrum from an interferogram. J. Chem. Educ. 89, 391–396 (2012)
3. P.J. Jacquinot, The luminosity of spectrometers with prisms, gratings, or Fabry-Perot etalons.
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 44, 761–765 (1954)
4. P.B.J. Fellgett, On the ultimate sensitivity and practical performance of radiation detectors. J.
Opt. Soc. Am. 39, 970–976 (1949)
5. J. Connes, P. Connes, Near-infrared planetary spectra by Fourier spectroscopy. I. Instruments
and results. J. Opt. Soc. Am. 56, 896–910 (1966)
6. R.A. Crocombe, Portable spectroscopy. Appl. Spectro. 72, 1701–1751 (2018)
7. C. Palmer, Diffraction Grating Handbook (7th edition) (Newport Corporation, 2014)
C. W. Huck
8.4 The Conclusions and Prospects for Future
Over the past decade, a new generation of compact NIR instrumentation appeared
and underwent a successively progressing level of miniaturization. These devices
revolutionized several fields of application of NIR spectroscopy. However, in sharp
contrast to the matured technology used in laboratory-scale benchtop spectrometers,
the miniaturized NIR instrumentation available on the market is far less uniform as
it implements various engineering principles. Therefore, the performance profiles
of those devices differ considerably. The necessary design compromises, inevitably
accepted to achieve a compact size, impose certain limits in the applicability of
such devices. Furthermore, several miniaturized NIR sensors have been optimized
toward low cost and ease of use by a non-expert operator. These circumstances rise
considerable concerns on the miniaturization vs. performance factor in reference
to scientific-grade benchtop spectrometers. It still remains a relatively shallowly
explored problem. The aim of this chapter is to summarize the background of miniaturized technology in NIR spectroscopy and its impact on the existing and potential
applications.
Rapidly increasing utilization of miniaturized NIR spectrometers in practical
applications throughout a broad spectrum of fields is evident from the literature
reports published over the last few years. It demonstrates the potential of portable
NIR spectroscopy and its importance for modern analytical chemistry. Furthermore,
this technology is one of the first methods of physicochemical analysis that aims to
cross the barrier between industrial or professional and everyday life applications
in general public. Notwithstanding, the impressive level of miniaturization often
comes as a give-and-take against the accuracy and robustness in analytical sense.
Furthermore, the diversity of the design principles implemented in portable NIR
spectrometers affects their performance profiles in device-specific ways. Therefore,
it is an active area of research to perform systematic evaluations of the analytical
performance of various miniaturized NIR spectrometers available on the market, and
to better direct future development of this technology.
References
1. A. Michelson, E.W. Morley, On the relative motion of the Earth and the luminiferous ether.
Am. J. Sci. 34, 333–345 (1887)
2. Q.S. Hanley, Fourier transforms simplified: computing an infrared spectrum from an interferogram. J. Chem. Educ. 89, 391–396 (2012)
3. P.J. Jacquinot, The luminosity of spectrometers with prisms, gratings, or Fabry-Perot etalons.
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 44, 761–765 (1954)
4. P.B.J. Fellgett, On the ultimate sensitivity and practical performance of radiation detectors. J.
Opt. Soc. Am. 39, 970–976 (1949)
5. J. Connes, P. Connes, Near-infrared planetary spectra by Fourier spectroscopy. I. Instruments
and results. J. Opt. Soc. Am. 56, 896–910 (1966)
6. R.A. Crocombe, Portable spectroscopy. Appl. Spectro. 72, 1701–1751 (2018)
7. C. Palmer, Diffraction Grating Handbook (7th edition) (Newport Corporation, 2014)