About This Webinar
Understanding the mechanism of a chemical reaction is an important step away from trial-and-error-based reaction optimization. By studying the structures of intermediates — how long they exist and the ways in which they can and cannot react — reactions can be intelligently designed and controlled. Infrared absorption is a prime choice for such reaction monitoring tasks due to its sensitivity and specificity. However, the achievable speed is often limited by the available instrumentation.
Dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS) based on quantum cascade laser (QCL) frequency combs has become a major contender in application spaces previously dominated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers. QCL DCS has led to a paradigm shift in applications that previously relied on step-scan techniques, such as protein dynamic analysis and spectroelectrochemistry.
In this presentation, Hugi focuses on the high signal-to-noise ratios that can be achieved at millisecond timescales, without experiment repetition, using dual-comb spectroscopy based on QCLs. Continuous reaction monitoring with 220 spectra/s can be achieved with a high spectral resolution >0.3 cm
-1. Pushing the DCS technique, Hugi and colleagues manage to get sub-µs time resolution for up to 128 ms acquisition time. Furthermore, the team has improved the spectral coverage of QCL DCS covering >100 cm
-1. The IRis-F1 combines all these features in a single instrument, resulting in versatility that paves the way to the next-generation mid-infrared spectroscopy instrumentation.
***This presentation premiered during the 2021
Photonics Spectra Conference Spectroscopy track. For information on upcoming Photonics Media events,
see our event calendar here.
About the presenter
Andreas Hugi, Ph.D., is a founder of IRsweep. IRsweep's vision is to revolutionize optical sensing by introducing an ultrafast laser spectrometer in the mid-infrared. It is based on Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) Frequency Combs invented by IRsweep's co-founders in 2012 at ETH Zurich. Prior to co-founding IRsweep, Andreas received his PhD on single-mode and comb operation of broadband QCLs in 2013 under the supervision of Jérôme Faist at ETH Zurich. He received his Master of Science in Micro- and Nanotechnology in 2007 from the University of Neuchâtel. Andreas was awarded the ETH Medal for an outstanding doctoral thesis and the Omega student award for his master thesis.