Hi, my name is Marten Seeba and I am one of the application specialists in the field of Infrared and Raman microscopy at Bruker Optics.
FTIR is a very precise tool to identify even the tiniest defects in all kinds of different samples.
If you are not familiar with the technique keep just keep in mind, that it’s applicable throughout many industries and today I want to show you a little bit of whats possible with the LUMOS FTIR microscope
Let’s start!
We already started the spectroscopic software guide, a handy assistant to lead you through the measurement process.
We already started the spectroscopic software guide, a handy assistant to lead you through the measurement process. For easier access to the stage click Exchange Sample.
For easier access to the sample stage click Exchange Sample.
The LUMOS moves the sample stage out of the way. Small samples may be put on the sample stage directly, yet for bigger and bulky samples this feature is extremely convenient.
Now we can place the sample onto the stage, in this case a piece from a coated plastic disk.
And when it's there we click position
Okay, we can click next
In this window, you can optimize your optical settings to get the best visual image out of your sample.
Due to guided interface, only essential information is displayed and the interface is kept very neat and clean.
If the image is blurred, focus and position of the sample can be adjusted by the hardware controller.
After that, we can capture a single image of the viewed area, or collect a composed image of a larger area.
To do that, we need to select border points. which is done by moving the stage with the controller, and clicking “Add new border point”.
The software automatically merges the single images to an accurate composed overview.
Now that the image is collected, we can zoom in to look at details, add annotations to interesting spots or measure distances and objects.
After visual inspection, we continue to the background preferences.
Everything is already set as it should be, so we just click next, and here we define the measurement mode.
Best suited for our sample is the ATR technique, since it is very versatile and can be applied to almost all sorts of samples without the need for sample preparation.
If needed, we can set preferences to optimize background acquisition time and therefore measurement sensitivity.
You also have the option to preview spectra but to save time we skip this feature and simply collect the background.
The LUMOS moves the sample stage out of the way to make room for the fully automated ATR crystal that is housed within the objective.
On screen, you can see the laser illuminated knife edge apertures which are set automatically without the need for manual interaction.
Now that our background is measured, all that is left to do is to decide where we want to measure
so on the right hand side you see our collected overview image and we will use the point selector to define interesting spots we want to measure
Once these spots are set they can be readjusted if you missed the area of interest and the aperture can be adjusted according to the sample
There are many more options to ideally analyze any sample. For example, you could select a line of measurement spots or a mapping area, but for now, let’s keep the pre-selected points.
Ok, lastly we can select measurement preferences to once more optimize acquisition time and measurement sensitivity.
All that is left to do now is to click measure sample
Because the Lumos has an integrated pressure sensor the pressure of the crystal on the sample will always be the same which means you get reproducible results everytime you measure
OK, were are done. All collected visual and spectral data will be presented in a new window, the "chemical imaging view".
Measurement points are indicated in different colors, and the corresponding spectra are shown in the window below.
Now if you want to identify a component you click search
and a new window will open up in which the results are displayed
In our case the sample was identified as polycarbonate which is typical for a compact disc.
Since all collected images are stored into a single file, managing collected data is extremely convenient.
That's all for now and all I wanted to show you. I hope you enjoyed the video demonstration and stay tuned for more from Bruker optics.