Have you asked questions such as: “Is there a less expensive alternative to costly laboratory spectrophotometers? “ or “What components should I use to build my own spectral measurement system?” If so, you will benefit from this course. In it, you will learn the fundamentals for designing, building and using a custom system for spectroscopic measurements using off-the-shelf components. The course will begin with a short introduction on spectroscopy theory, review basic optical components and their use, and conclude with examples of hardware setups ranging from the ultraviolet to the near infrared. A primary goal of this course is to demystify the creation of an effective spectroscopic solution optimized for your needs.

This course will provide the technical manager, sales engineering, marketing staff, or other non-optics personnel with a basic, non-mathematical introduction to the terms, specifications, and concepts used in optical technology to facilitate effective communication with optics professionals on a functional level. Topics to be covered include basic concepts such as imaging, interference, diffraction, polarization and aberrations, definitions relating to color and optical quality, and an overview of the basic measures of optical performance such as MTF and wavefront error. The material will be presented with a minimal amount of math, rather emphasizing working concepts, definitions, rules of thumb, and visual interpretation of specifications. Specific applications will include defining basic imaging needs such as magnification, depth-of-field, and MTF as well as the definitions of radiometric terms.