NIRquest from Ocean Optics is a fibre-optic near-infrared spectrometer that is adaptable for online process-control measurements from 900-2500nm.
A range of applications includes moisture detection in grains and meats, materials characterisation of semiconductor components, bacterial detection in food and beverage production and chemical analysis of pharmaceuticals.
NIRQuest represents the next generation of optical sensing technologies that are moving from the lab to the process line.
Flexible detectors, light sources and sampling optics result in instruments more easily implemented into the process stream.
The modular approach of systems such as NIRQuest makes multiple-point sampling and redundant sensing accessible for online applications, and versatile system setups enable less costly adaptation to changing process line needs.
NIRQuest uses a high-performance Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs)-array detector in a compact, optical bench with thermoelectric cooler and low-noise electronics.
The spectrometer couples to a PC and can operate via USB 2.0 or RS-232.
In addition, NIRQuest can be bundled with the Ocean Optics Remora Network Adapter to turn the system into a networked spectral data server over Ethernet or an existing Wi-Fi connection.
The external hardware triggering functions allow users to capture data when an external event occurs, or to trigger an event after data acquisition.
This capability can be used to capture data from automated processes or from devices such as solar simulators that flash synchronously.