Diode-Array Spectrometer Problems



Light is coming out the right side of the microscope
Hit the little red RESET button to the right of the machine.

Bad results
Absorbance should be under 4, ideally under 2, best all under 1.5. Need a thin, polished sample. Make sure the upper/lower apertures aren't letting light in around the edges. Have the black rectangles of the apertures be in focus and sharp. Raise the scans to make a smoother curve. However more than 12 scans in IR doesn't really improve the graph since the data is more jagged.

Very low and noisy data
Is the VIEW on the microscope OFF? Is the IR/Visible light bulb ON?

Periodic bumps in data
Can be from a film on sample. Might be from oils on hands or have oxidized while heating sample. Remove, wash with soap, water, make sure it's dry and the windows are clean before trying to run the sample again.

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