Spectroscopy

Here are links to pages discussing our 3D printed parts, Optics, and Lamps. Here are pages discussing spectrometer electronics and software. Here is the page for the build.

The WheeTrometer is a customizable spectrometer capable of measuring light in the UV and visible regions. It uses the Toshiba TCD 1304 charge coupled device as a detector and incorporates a Teensy 4.0 microcontroller development board programmed in the user friendly Arduino development environment.

The instrument was developed to be built using 3D printed parts and an optics and electronics package that we sell. All software (firmware and user interface) are open source and freely available.

An introduction to the Wheetrometer project is provided in a video recorded for a 2022 science conference.

A Video demonstrating dissassembly of a WheeTrometer shows how the instrument is built

Optics package

Clockwise from Front: Stainless Steel Slit, Grating, Focusing & Collimating mirrors. See this link for pricing and availability

Emission Spectrum of CFL

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Emit at known Discreet Wavelengths, Allowing Easy, Convenient Calibration

3D printed parts

A gallery of the 3D printed parts is available at this link. All models are available as STL files or files in OpenSCAD.

Software

Software: We are working to optimize and improve the user interface and firmware. In 2021 we undertook a renovation of our approach to the hardware and that meant new firmware. While we were at it, we began updating the user interface and that meant backing out and re-tooling some of the stuff we had working. This is all work in progress, so please bear with us. We are committed to getting this right and creating the most intuitive and useful user experience possible.

Right now, our user interface (GUI) will do the following tasks:

connect automatically to the spectrometer over USB.
set run parameters such as integration time, etc.
initiate spectral acquisition
display recorded data
save data files in csv format
acquire multiple data files
conversion of raw intensity to absorbance

We had a number of other features working that we screwed up in our updates. We don't foresee major obstacles doing this but it all takes a little time. We plan to get the following features back in the user interface:

import saved spectra,
mathematical manipulation of spectra.

Light sources:

Our spectrometer can be used with commercial light sources or you can build your own. We offer hardware for interfacing the Wheetrometer via standard SMA905 fiber optic connectors. You can also develop instruments where the source connects directly to the spectrometer. Some of our efforts on developing light sources is presented at this page.