Wednesday, September 24, 2008
2008 R&D 100 Winner
For over 50 years, spectroscopists have trained and worked in a world where pathlength was considered to be a constant by developing techniques and methods around the fixed pathlength cuvettes available to them. The SoloVPE—Variable Pathlength Extension—from C Technologies Inc., Bridgewater, N.J., is turning spectroscopy on its head by dynamically varying optical pathlengths, thus enabling absorption measurements of highly concentrated samples without dilution.
The SoloVPE is designed to make absorption measurements in the UV, visible, and NIR wavelength ranges (190 nm – 1100 nm) on samples with a wide range of absorptions. It achieves this flexibility by dynamically varying the measurement pathlength from 0.010 mm up to 15.000 mm by integrating optical fiber, a stepper motor, and linear actuator technology with control software to precisely provide thousands of different pathlengths on demand. The ability of the SoloVPE to adjust the optical pathlength maximizes the dynamic range, sensitivity, and resolution of the instrument. The system generates absorbance vs pathlength plots in real time with data acquisition, a unique capability among lab spectrophotometers.
Technology
Enhancement for spectroscopy
Developer
C Technologies, Inc.
