Environmental Impact is Also Very Important for Optical Spectrometer

If any precision instrument wants to get accurate data, it must operate under certain working conditions. The environment has a great impact on the performance, reliability, measurement results and service life of the analytical instrument. However, ignoring its working environment will likely lead to instrument failure. Because small changes in the external environment will bring changes to the stability of data measured; serious changes in the external environment could damage the instrument and shorten the service life of the instrument.

1. Precautions for optical spectrometer

In general, the more precise the instrument is, the higher the requirements for external working conditions are. As one of high-end optical measuring devices, the optical spectrometer is no exception. It should be kept in a dry, ventilated, vibration free and acid-base gas free room. At the same time, the room should be equipped with double curtains to avoid direct exposure to strong light. Before installing the instrument, you must carefully read the installation and operation manual provided by spectrometer suppliers. The installation and operation manual is a collection of knowledge about correct installation, effective operation, maintenance and common fault diagnosis and troubleshooting of the instrument, which is a guide for the operator before practice.

2. The effect of environment on optical spectrometer

Generally speaking, precision optical instruments have certain requirements for ambient temperature. Components made of different materials will also be distorted and deformed due to different expansion coefficients, resulting in deviation from the standards. The heat dissipation efficiency of optical elements and instruments will be less active, which will lead to changes in the performance of the optical system. High room temperature will reduce heat dissipation efficiency of the instrument. The interior temperature rise of the instrument will influence the electric components' performance, service life, insulating property. For example, the optical element of optical spectrometer will have drift spectral line when the ambient temperature changes, which will lead to high precision of measurement data, and it is difficult for the operator to accurately measure the data; low temperature will change the parameters of capacitor and inductor resistor, resulting in performance changes.

Humidity is a physical quantity indicating the degree of atmospheric dryness. At certain temperature, the less moisture contained in certain volume of air, the drier the air is; the more moisture, the more humid the air. The degree of dryness and wetness of the air is called humidity.

In this sense, absolute humidity, relative humidity, comparative humidity, mixing ratio, saturation difference, dew point and other physical quantities are commonly used as expression of measurement; here what we discuss is relative humidity. For users in relatively humid areas, a dehumidifier larger than 50L must be prepared, otherwise the spectrometer will not be able to work normally due to dampness. For example, in rainy seasons, the frequency of spectrum analyzer failure is higher than other seasons because of the high humidity in the air.