|Articles|August 31, 2009

NIST Researchers Develop Frequency Converter for NIR Spectroscopy

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland) have developed a highly sensitive, low-cost NIR spectroscopy technique that can measure the specific wavelengths used in telecommunications as well as single-photon levels of infrared light given off by fragile biomaterials and nanomaterials.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland) have developed a highly sensitive, low-cost NIR spectroscopy technique that can measure the specific wavelengths used in telecommunications as well as single-photon levels of infrared light given off by fragile biomaterials and nanomaterials. The approach “up converts” infrared photons up to the visible range using a tunable laser. The narrow-band pump laser scans the infrared signal photons and converts only those that have the desired polarization and wavelength to visible light. The visible light is easily detected by commercially available avalanche photodiode detectors. The new system reportedly enables spectra to be measured with a sensitivity that is greater than 1000 times that of current commercial optical spectral instruments.


Related to this article

Highlights from What’s Nu October 2026
In this Q&A, we recap the October edition of “What’s Nu,” which covered topics such as how novel spectroscopic and analytical methods are transforming environmental monitoring, medical treatment, and accessibility in scientific research.
Education distance learning, e-learning, and online learning are all types of personal development. | Image Credit: © ipuwadol - stock.adobe.com
In this segment of our SciX interview with Kevin Wilkinson, a professor of environmental chemistry at the Université de Montréal, discusses extending lead isotope work to greater distances and explains why graduate students need adaptability, critical judgment, and coding skills more than expertise in any single instrument.
Atoms Don't Lie–The Remaking of Atomic Spectroscopy, © Hallie -chronicles-stock.adobe.com
Atomic spectroscopy has quietly gone from counting elements in bulk to counting single nanoparticles, imaging tissue at the micrometer scale, and reading Martian rocks from several meters away. The instruments got smaller, the software got smarter, and the questions they can now answer got a lot more interesting.